Renegade
by Upon a Pale Horse
Summary: Naruto was born different, different in other ways from a Jinchurriki, born a killer Naruto struggles to figure out who and what he really is Semi-strong, but Darkish Naruto. Evil Kyubi lots of gore NaruHina SasuSaku
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**- I don't own Naruto.

Alright, I don't own any of the characters' and stuff. I appreciate and welcome constructive criticism, but I will not respond to just plain flaming of my story. Again, if you don't like were its going, then don't read it. Oh and one more thing, my grammar is probably going to suck sometimes and I don't know any Japanese, and I'm to lazy to look up phrases and such, so this will be in English. You should also know that this is my first Fanfic, so it might not be that great.

**Summery:**

Alright here we go. Basically, I'm writing Naruto's story in what I deem more realistic as far as personality goes. So just so you know this will be a dark Naruto fic.

Naruto grew up on the streets and knows how cruel the world really is. Besides the fact that the whole village hates him, the gangs in the inner city/village hate him to because ANBU always save him from mobs and such. So, he gets the shit end of the stick and learns how to survive by any means. The Fox is very evil, but still helps Naruto out because of its own survival, and because he's got nothing else to do. Naruto will not stay cold and hard forever, and there will be eventual NaruHina.

**Renegade**

Whack! The sounds of a beating being delivered echoed through the alleys. As good a place Konoha was, there still is a darker side to it. Despite the efficiency of the Uchiha shinobi police, it is not possible for a city to reach that size and not have bad neighborhoods. In this case the police wouldn't have done anything even if they did stumble across the scene.

In an alley right next to a dumpster three teenagers in ratty clothes were beating a small blond boy. Two of them were just hitting and kicking him, but the third hadn't done anything, yet. He wanted the other two to have there fun before he went off on the kid with a homemade club, that was just a two by four with barbed wire wrapped around the end.

"Hey, let's gut this fag and get out of here" said the first kid hitting him on the head one more time for good measure.

"Right" said the one with the club. The first kid stomped on his rib cage one more time for good measure and then kicked the blond boy in the teeth to make him more complainant and then stepped on his throat. The second kid grabbed his legs and held them down. The kid with the club lifted it up and brought it down on the kid's stomach, then savagely tearing it back ripping the burlap sack that was his shirt and slicing huge ragged gashes on his stomach. The small kid let out a muted scream thanks to the foot on his throat, while causing the other boys to grin.

"Hey I know, let cut this fuckers balls off." Said the one whom was holding his legs. The guy then let the kids legs go and went for something. The small boy went limp, not resisting, not yet. He knew he was only going to get one shot at this. The other boys felt the blond relax and let there grip up slightly thinking that he had simply given up.

The boy with the club walked toward a particularly promising pile of trash while the other one hade taken up the role of look out not really paying attention to the boy whose throat he was stepping on. They had been there to long; the shinobi police were not lenient on street urchins.

The blond looked down at the boy who was going to try and castrate him produce a homemade bottle glass knife. The blond waited for him to get closer. When he was one knee and leaning forward he lashed out with his right leg, catching him right on his nose, effectively flatting it out completely and causing cartilage to smash into the brain. The kids head jerked back, but then began to fall forward, already dead. The blond couldn't take that chance though and kicked him again on his way down smashing in his face and coating the boy's leg in blood and brain matter.

All of this transpired in less than two seconds. The blond hade maybe a second and a half before he was noticed. So he grabbed the knife. The other boy caught this movement in the corner of his eye and looked down in horror as the kid took the knife and rammed it into the place were it would cause the most damage, his crotch. The kid gave a twist and pulled out the improvised blade causing a lot of blood and the kids lower intestines to spill out. The boy let out a blood curtailing scream as he reached down in a futile attempt to catch his bowls and hold himself together as he fell on the ground.

The other boy who was halfway down the alley was just now getting what had happened and was already on the way over, fully intent on killing the kid. The blond barely had time to flinch as the older boy brought down his brutal club on his head while yelling at the top of his lungs that he was going to tear him apart. Creating yet another big gash and was done with such force that it easily fractured his skull.

Now blind, due to the amount of blood leaking into his eyes, and broken, the young boy was convinced he was dying. But he would be dammed if he didn't at least try to take the cocksucker with him. So he slashed out with the knife blindly and happened to be lucky. He didn't know what he got, but it was low and made the kid fall with a scream. The older kid not to be out done he swung his club and it landed with a sickening thud on the younger kids throat. And was relived to hear the wet hacking sounds of the kid drowning in his own blood.

By this time all of the screaming and continued screaming by the castrated boy, who was quickly bleeding out and would soon go into shock, had caught the attention of the local citizens. Who did nothing really because this really out of the ordinary. But a patrolling shinobi of the police force heard it and started towards the fight.

The local Uchiha shinobi arrived a couple of seconds after this which was very lucky for the boy because he was bleeding out fast. The older boy hobbled away as fast as he could right past the castrated boy who was now dead in a pool of his own blood and intestines. It took only a second to decide what to do. Seeing as there might be a chance, however slim it might be, to save the child, he did just that instead of going after the wounded teenager. Thankfully, the kid was covered in so much blood that the shinobi simply didn't recognize him as was now sprinting as fast as he could in the direction of the nearest hospital with an O.R.

Kakashi Hatake was leading his anbu team back to the Hokage tower to report on a mission success when he caught sight of a chunin running with a bloody and broken Naruto in his arms. Kakashi quickly signaled to his second in command to proceed without him and moved to intercept the chunin being much faster than he was. The chunin handed over Naruto on the run with no objection. Still running, Kakashi looked down and glanced at Naruto to asses his condition. Kakashi was needless to say, shocked, shocked at the amount of injures and at the fact that he was somehow still alive. Kakashi's run turned into a reckless sprint as he ran for all he was worth.

**Naruto's Mindscape**

"Am I dead?" Naruto thought out loud.

He looked around and saw that he was in some kind of sewer laying in two inches of water. Even with very little light, he decided to walk around since he didn't have anything else to do. It wasn't long before he came across a massive chamber. As Naruto walked farther in he looked in awe at a huge gait with a piece of paper with the word 'seal' on it. As he got closer he suddenly heard breathing, the sound of something huge and carnivorous. Naruto started backing up deciding to leave when he looked up only to be greeted by the sight of two huge crimson eyes with vertically slitted pupils. He had no idea how he had managed to miss those eyes or the insane amount of killing intent, this place reeked of malice and hate.

Naruto was not ashamed to admit that he was afraid. Naruto was only seven, but he had seen a lot. He had killed, seen people tortured and been tortured himself. And all for the reason that they simply could do it. Naruto knew how cruel and evil people could be. But none of that even compared to this…… thing, this monster. This was a true monster, the personification of evil itself. He nearly choked in fear when a huge grin appeared out of the abyss, complete with very large and sharp teeth, not to mention the incisors alone were like tusks.

(Not exactly sure what there called, but I mean the teeth normally associated with vampire fangs, maybe I should just call them fangs?)

The Fox was very pleased at the reaction he was getting from the boy. The boy was terrified even though he only chose to show him his eyes and teeth, he still didn't want to reveal his identity for various reasons and plans he had, also it was scarier for mortals when they can't see. However his euphoria was short lived as the boy ceased to exhibit and smell of fear, and became calm.

"_**Are you not afraid boy?"**_the fox said in a deep intimidating voice. The fox was surprised when the boy didn't go into an explanation and simply stated "No"

The fox waited for the boy to explain, but when nothing was forthcoming he said in his deep drawn out tone, _**"Explain."**_

"Unless pissing oneself will help someone survive, I don't think that being afraid is going to help me. So, I decided not to be afraid." Naruto said simply with a sigh.

The Fox was for the first time in his existence, dumbfounded. The boy 'decided not to be afraid'? _'__**This**_ _**boy was even more surprising than his sire.'**_ The fox thought with an inward chuckle, very much looking forward to what was to come. Not wanting to give anything away the fox continued as if nothing had surprised it.

"_**Very well, we do not have much time, your body is dying; and quite fast I might add. I am offering a deal that will save your life in the process."**_

"What is the deal?" Naruto asked in genuine curiosity thinking 'why would a demon want to save me?' though also knowing that he would probably say yes anyway.

Crimson red boiling chakra leaked out of the gait and stopped in front of him. From there, a giant scroll seamed to materialize out of nothing. An even more demonic smile appeared than before, though not getting the same reaction as before. _**"Unfortunately for us both, there's no time to go over the details. However, we can amend it later if we both agree on it."**_

This was bad, there was absolutely no way he could trust this monster that was obviously a demon. For all he knew the fucking thing was lying and he was signing his soul over to this thing.

"_**Tick Tock, Tick Tock; you have maybe another 30 seconds before you die"**_said the beast with a sadistic ring in its voice.

However, he was going to die anyway, and he didn't think his actions thus far deemed him worthy of heaven. What did he have to lose anyway? "Fuck it, what do I have to do?"

Without skipping a beat the Fox told him he had to open the scroll, cover his entire hand in his own blood, and then just slap it on the scroll anywhere. The giant scroll was immediately filled with symbols that he didn't understand. This was all accomplished in less than seven seconds.

"Now what?" Naruto asked starting to panic as he felt nothing happening.

"_**I can't heal you completely, but I can keep you alive long enough for the other mortals to get you stable."**_ Said the Fox and watching Naruto was slipping into unconsciousness, even in his own mindscape, this was not going to be an easy transition.

The Fox was talking to himself in his own mind before he too would fall into a slumber. 'A most interesting boy indeed. If I can't have fun on my own, I might as well have it through the boy. He's already got the hate, but still what kind of man will he grow to be? This may be more fun than I thought.' The great fox demon thought to itself as he slipped into a coma of sorts.

Kakashi was almost on the verge of panic when he got to the hospital, he was sure it was due to the kyuubi that the boy was still alive, but even that had limits.

"Get this boy to an O.R. now!" Kakashi yelled at the first nurse he ran into. The nurse hit a panic button that was on a necklace, then without skipping a beat both them put Naruto on a gurney. The nurse focused entirely on Naruto's neck, regardless of any of the dozens of wounds and internal bleeding, if they couldn't stop the bleeding, nothing else would matter. Naruto's pulse was weak now, she could tell even before she put her fingers in his neck and pinched to close his jugular vein. She could tell this because; his blood was not squirting out like it should have been. Then taking a look at his body, she realized that he probably didn't have much blood left anyway.

A team of doctors and nurses arrived seconds later, immediately going to work putting I.V.s in him for blood and such all the while running while pushing the gurney to the nearest O.R. with a surgeon.

All the while Kakashi was right beside them, though somehow not getting in the way. Looking at him, with his oxygen mask on and after they cut through his improvised shirt to get it out of the way, he almost started panicking again. On Naruto's head, there were two big gashes, on high up on his forehead, and the other on his scalp on the top of his head. Besides his throat being slit, his neck was fine. His torso on the other hand was a mess, two of his ribs on the left side were actually on the outside having broken through the skin. On the right side of his rib cage, it was slightly caved in. His abdomen had three huge and deep jagged gashes that didn't look like clean cuts at all. Even with the little blood he had left they still managed to bleed profusely. And lower, his left leg looked like it was starting to turn purple through massive internal bleeding.

It wasn't that Kakashi had never seen this before, far from it, he had seen much worse. However, he had never seen anyone survive such injuries. When they did happen on missions, as captain, it was his responsibility to perform mercy killing. He also realized that there was nothing more he could do, all he could do was inform the Hokage, and pray.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"And that is when I decided to report to you." Said Kakashi to the Hokage. Saritobi sighed, "Alright, you're dismissed." "Before I leave, what will we do with him if he happens to survive?" Kakashi stated rather than asked, implying that something was going to be done about the boy's safety no matter what.

"Now is not the time, but your right, something will have to be done. If you wouldn't mind, could you spend part of your leave at the hospital and notify me on the results? Ill think of someway to get around the law and at least help him out, we will discuss the details then."

"Sure, no problem." Kakashi said without hesitation and started towards the door. Right before the Hokage was going to open his mouth Kakashi said while still walking towards the door, "I understand, this will stay between the two of us."

Saritobi sighed as Kakashi left and just sat there in the dark for a moment reflecting. Besides Orochimaru, whom he somehow didn't catch on to the fact that he was a total psychopath, despite him being a former student of his, Naruto's fate was his greatest failure.

**Flashback **

Sarutobi was rubbing his temples with two fingers each being on the verge of a migraine. Meanwhile almost the whole council was screaming at the top of there lungs. There were three different sides to the argument/screaming match going on; the first and most dominate was for execution, the second was against execution, and finally the smallest group was not saying anything and remaining neutral. The person that they were arguing the fate of was a newborn still sleeping somehow in a crib in front of his desk.

"The demon must be destroyed for the sake of safety and revenge!" yelled someone from the civilian part of the counsel. The cheers from that statement far outweighed the yells of opposition, this greatly worried him. It was time to finish this before he couldn't do anything about it, as if this dragged out to long, Naruto would surly die.

"Silence!" yelled Sarutobi letting out a significant amount of killing intent in it as well. He had to remind everyone who was really in charge around here before he could do anything as he absolutely refused to let Naruto burn at the stake.

"We will discuss this matter calm and collected as it should always be, I will not stand for chaos in the council." There was no movement for a few seconds, outbursts like that were very rare from the aged Hokage. However, he was always dead serious when he was like this, and quick to hand out severe punishment if necessary, on top of that, looked to be in a lethal mood.

"Now, would those against of the child present there case?" Though he said it in a tone clearly saying that this was not a request.

A civilian stood up, "The boy is the kyubi, and I don't see a problem in the execution of a monster. Besides it will give the entire village peace of mind knowing that the beast is gone and there loved ones avenged." There were grumbles of approval though no one started shouting anymore.

"Now, would the defense present there case." Sarutobi said in an almost hopeful manner. As far as he could tell, surprisingly almost all shinobi were on Naruto's side, or at least remaining neutral. But the council was still half civilians and therefore needed a majority vote on all non military matters. Knowing that this would never happen in Naruto's favor, he started thinking up a compromise.

Shikaku Nara stood up, "I don't know how much you civilians know about jinchuriki, but they are simply hosts and nothing more depending on the skill of the sealer and the seal used. Considering that it was Minato that sealed him, I think its safe to say that were ok, he would not have done this unless he knew the boy could handle it."

"Besides he could make a very valuable asset to our military strength." Said Danzo the old war hawk and leader of Root. Despite all of this the civilian side wasn't backing down. Sarutobi saw were this was going, if he didn't finish this soon they would start turning members of the neutral party to there cause, forcing him to do something drastic. He had a compromise in mind, but he really was hoping that it wouldn't come to this. He raised his hand and the chamber settled and all were silent.

"I have a compromise that everyone can agree on," there were a few murmurs of disbelief but they were going to hear him out.

" A. Naruto will live, B. there will be no interference on his quality of life from any one, and C.," he sighed and looked up seeing everyone waiting for the final term,

"He will be placed in an orphanage in the North-West section of the village." There was silence and looks of shock on everyone's face. Even the normally cold and indifferent Hiashi Huyga, whose jaw dropped in shock. What Sarutobi had just proposed might as well have been a death sentence. That part of the town was avoided by everyone else and was seen as the criminal cesspool of the village. For kids it was especially dangerous and was not uncommon for them to die at a very young age. Assuming that the orphanage didn't kick him out, he would most likely be dead before he turned six.

"Are there any objections to this?"

Several shinobi were about to stand up and object but realized that this was probably the only way Naruto could live without the Hokage declaring martial law. The civilian members were fine with it because of the life expectancy, quality of life that was unavoidable in that part of the village, and the fact that he would be with the 'undesirables' and they wouldn't have to put up with him. "So be it." Sarutobi said with great sadness in his voice.

Danzo was thrilled; this couldn't have turned out better in his opinion. He knew the boy wasn't the demon, but he still wanted one for the village's use. 'Yes, the nine tails will keep him alive, and when he becomes old enough ill get Sarutobi to let him into the academy if he isn't already planning that. But by then, he will be cold, hard, and ruthless. This is exactly what I need. Now all I have to do is wait.' Danzo visibly smiled to himself.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That's the first chapter, though I consider this a prequel. I think it was way to short and will try to make them longer in the future. Any suggestions are welcome. And assuming anyone is actually reading this, the more reviews I get, the faster I will update.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto and the other things that I took from the manga/anime.

Well, here it is people, just one day after the first update. From now on, I will probably update once a week or so, that is assuming anybody is actually reading this of course. Please! Review, give me some idea that this is being read.

**Chapter 2**

It had been almost eight hours and Naruto was still in surgery. But it also meant that he wasn't dead either. Kakashi was starting to get tired, and even reading his icha-icha books had limits to entertain him. But he refused to leave. He had to at least know if he was going to live. But if he had lasted this long, chances were that he would make it, what with the fox and all. Suddenly some nurses and other medical staff came out of the O.R. and seemed relieved.

"How is he?" Kakashi asked trying to hide the desperate note in his voice.

"We don't know yet, were just the junior staff and we were just replaced so, were going to sleep." The young resident said in a tone that said that he was done talking, even hinting at being rude. Kakashi was in no mood to be polite and promptly moved to the door blocking their way.

"No one is leaving until I get a status report." He said in a tone that mimicked his mood and his one visible eye narrowing dangerously. Before any of the young residents that really shouldn't have been there in first place could say anything stupid, as they clearly had no idea who they had just pissed off, an older nurse stepped forward.

"I'm sorry for there stupidity Kakashi-san, I can give you an update." Kakashi recognized her as an experienced nurse who had been there a while. He had seen her before.

"That's fine; the rest of you can go." He said with a still angry look while the young residents and surgeons walked away as fast they could without openly breaking into something faster. They didn't know why exactly, but they felt in danger around the silver haired ninja. "Sorry about that, they've got a lot to learn." She said with a sigh.

"That's fine for now, but how is he holding up?"

"Well the vote is still out; he had a lot of internal bleeding and a few ruptured organs, not to mention the numerous broken bones. For a while we just focused on stopping the bleeding and trying to repair the more vital organs. He was damn lucky his heart wasn't damaged." She said with a relieved tone. Kakashi liked her already.

"What organs were affected the most?"

"Well, his left lung was punctured by the two ribs that broke out of the skin. But the right lung was just under pressure; once we set the ribs in the right place it was fine. We have him on a ventilator right now and he is showing no signs of breathing problems. One of kidneys was ruptured but we were able to save it. That's when we switched personnel to get some fresh people in there. Seeing that he has survived so long, and due to his 'host' I think he will pull through." Kakashi sighed in relief. But then realized what she had just said.

"Do the other doctor's know who he is?" he said clearly worried that if that there might be an 'accident' that caused Naruto to die.

"As far as I can tell, no. I just recognized him because I was the one who put the ventilator in and stitched up the gashes on his head. I realized that his hair was actually blond and not red. That and the whisker marks were a dead giveaway, but they're covered up by the mask now so I doubt they will figure it out till he has been cleaned up." Again, another sigh of relief from Kakashi.

"How much longer will he be in surgery?"

"If there are no other complications, at least another ten hours. They going to start setting the ribs the right way now and make sure all the big arteries are ok. Then I guess they'll move on the next broken bone they find the most serious, or try and fix anything new they find. You look pretty tired, why don't you go and sleep in the doctors lounge down the hall, it should be empty and I doubt you will be disturbed." It was true, Kakashi was very tired, borer lining on exhaustion. He had easily been up at least forty-eight hours. "There's nothing else you can do here, get some sleep." She said kindly before leaving to either go home or sleep in one of the beds in the hospital for doctors and nurses. He hoped the later, there weren't many that cared for, or at least didn't care that he was a jinchuriki. Naruto was going to need someone who would look out for him when the news got out that it was him they were treating. He didn't know how long Naruto would take to recover, and he couldn't be there all of the time. But she was right, he might as well sleep, Naruto wouldn't be out of surgery for a while and he might need to protect him once the word got out.

Nine and half hours later

Kakashi was still worried despite the fact that the surgery was still ongoing, which meant that Naruto was still alive. He met the nurse again in the waiting room and learned a little about her. First of all, her name was Ellen. She was old enough that she had been here back when the Sanin Tsunade still ran things. In her opinion, things had deteriorated a lot after she left.

It was true; Tsunade had made a rigorous training program for any and all staff of the hospitals. Doctors were put through a lot more training before they were even considered to become doctors rather than just staying residents. She had insisted on interviewing and assessing any and all medical staff. The door opened from the entrance in the main lobby, and none other than the Hokage himself walked in. Kakashi, still in anbu at the time, though he wasn't wearing his mask at the moment, automatically got down on his right knee with his right fist on the ground with his head bowing down.

"Your not on duty Kakashi, you don't have to bother with the formalities, at least not now." The Hokage said in a neutral tone, he didn't want one of his anbu getting to relaxed, not even Kakashi. "How is he doing?"

"Well I don't know much other than he has been in surgery for the last seventeen hours. I presume it means that he is still alive though." The Hokage nodded and had an expression on his face that clearly meant he was worried.

"Though, I think we need to talk later about Naruto's condition." Again Sarutobi nodded. They could not talk here; they didn't know who else might be listening.

"Ill have an anbu squad protecting Naruto after he's out of surgery, and as soon as he's in his room."

"How did you manage to get protection for him, isn't that a violation?" Kakashi said with a puzzled expression.

"Well, Naruto is a citizen of Konoha, and our laws state that I can do whatever I can, or rather want, to ensure the protection of its citizens." Sarutobi said with a smug look.

"I gather the counsel wasn't too happy about this?" Kakashi's one visible eye made an upside down U indicating that he was smiling.

"No they weren't, but they didn't fight it to much. Even if he makes it out of surgery, the likely hood that he will survive is still very small." Now said with a somber tone and a sigh. It was true, for normal people with half of the amount of internal bleeding and damage even if they made it out of surgery, they would usually die within forty-eight to seventy-two hours. But Naruto was not normal.

It was another three hours before he got out of surgery. The doctors were understandably exhausted, even though they had switched the main surgical staff. Ellen was there though and said that Naruto would not be able to receive visitors for awhile, as he was going to be in the I.C.U. for a while. With the knowledge that he was at least alive and hanging in there, Kakashi left to report to the Hokage.

With no one else in Sarutobi's office, it was safe to talk freely.

"Well, as soon as Naruto can talk were going to have to talk to him to see how much he knows, and what exactly happened." Sarutobi said in a serious tone. Kakashi looking just as serious said,

"I agree, something must have happened, Naruto lost much more blood than his body is capable of carrying, id say at least three times the total amount. The only logical theory that I can at least come up with, is that the fox was creating blood cells and keeping him alive." They were both silent for a moment.

"Something must have happened, the forth didn't design the seal to allow that much interference, at least not yet. Hopefully he can tell us when he wakes up." Sarutobi said nodding his head in agreement."

"I would like an extension on my leave, id like to be there when he wakes up. I have a plan to help him out without breaking the law." Sarutobi raised his eyebrow and had a look that clearly said 'oh really?'

"Well ok it might be bending the law a little bit. But the counsel doesn't need to know; besides, you're the one that there really worried about. I don't think they even considered the fact that a shinobi would try and even bend the law."

"ok, mind telling me what this grand plan is?" two conspirators talked for a while before Kakashi finally went home for a little bit to clean up and get some real rest before he went back to the hospital.

Back at the hospital Kakashi looked up Ellen and asked for an update.

"So far, he is doing better than we expected. He has been here before, and I know that he is a fast healer." basically saying that the kyubi was helping.

"How often is he here?" Kakashi asked intrigued, he didn't think the medical staff would do too much to help him.

"Oh, only every once in a while. He comes when he doesn't have much of a choice, when he's hurt bad enough that he cant stitch him self up. Like when he breaks bones. Though I usually take care of him."

"I see. With his healing rate, how long will it before he is conscious?"

"Well, this is just guessing, but taking into consideration the amount of damage, I would say about two to three days. There was also a miner skull fracture that we really couldn't do that much about. So the best thing for him is to sleep right now." Kakashi was still relieved even if his chances of recovery only increased a little bit.

'Well, I might as well get comfortable here, with an anbu team guarding his room, he should be safe.' Being a member of anbu himself, he knew that even if the entire team hated Naruto, orders were orders, with no exceptions. Only the best were aloud to even go through the first testing phase of training. And most washed out there, there was something like a sixty percent attrition rate. If you got in anbu, you did what you were told and kept your mouth shut, unless you were either given permission to speak, or were reporting to your superiors. So with that in mind, he laid down on the couch in the waiting room, and started to read his porn.

One and a half days later

'Ow, that's bright, someone turn off the fucking lights!' thought Naruto as he was just regaining consciousness. After trying to get up he realized that it hurt too much to move, and he was strapped down, though now everything hurt. All in a flash, it all came back to him, the beating, dying, and signing the contract with the monster. He inwardly shuddered at the memory of being near it.

'Well I'm alive, that must mean the thing kept up his part of the deal, though I still have no idea of what my part of it is yet.' The lights turned off suddenly,

"Is that better?" someone asked. Naruto slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the big mask on his face with a tube going out of it leading it somewhere he couldn't see. He recognized this as a ventilator, which meant that there was a tube in his throat. As much as he thought it would be bad, or at least a weird feeling, he didn't have the energy to try and breathe on his own, so he didn't mind. He looked around with only his eyes, not being able to move his head, and saw a tall ninja with a mask with only one eye and who's silver hair that apparently, the laws of gravity didn't apply to. He was too tired to think about him and all of this was actually a lot strain on him, and he fell to sleep again.

To say Kakashi was relieved was an under statement, he was ecstatic. He had always felt bad about not being able to be in his sensei's only child's life, even if it wasn't his fault. He had to be careful though, Naruto wasn't like other kids, he was forced to grow up fast and think only of survival. When Kakashi read the report of the chunin that found him, he was going to have to ask Naruto if had killed before, and how he had managed to kill two of the teens and wounded the other one that had an improvised club. If he wasn't careful, he would just end up ruining any chance of getting through to him. He was going to have to think of a plausible excuse to get him to trust him.

When he and the Hokage were talking, they both agreed that they had to get Naruto off the streets, even if it was only for a short time. With that in mind he left to tell the Hokage that Naruto had at least regained consciousness for a little while. But on the way out he bumped into Ellen.

"Oh hey, Naruto woke up for a second," said Kakashi with a skip in a voice.

"That's great! But I need to talk to you for a second, especially if he just up woke up for a moment." However, she seemed a little worried. Kakashi put on a more serious face and nodded for her continue. She took a deep breath, "After his surgery I kept a close eye on his chart and condition. He was healing very fast."

"Well Naruto does heal faster than normal people due to his condition." Said Kakashi not sure if he liked were this was going.

"You don't understand, he's healing very fast, even for him. Something must have happened. I don't know, and I don't want to know, I just thought that you should know." Kakashi nodded and they both parted ways. Actually, Kakashi was already aware that something had happened, and not just because the fox had kept Naruto alive either. When naruto had opened his eyes, they were slitted.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I see," said the Hokage with a sigh, "I'm afraid this means that I will have to be there when he wakes up. If something on the seal has changed, I need to know about it." Kakashi nodded in understanding. The Hokage created a clone to stay in his office and do paper work and left with Kakashi to wait in Naruto's room.

"Ow, fuck, turn that off!" said Naruto the second he opened his eyes. The lights dimmed a second later. 'Wait, that means that someone is here' he thought with a slight feeling of dread remembering the ninja that was in his room earlier. Every encounter with ninja in his life had ended in pain, of feigned ignorance of him. 'Well there were a couple times when those guys in masks saved me from the mobs chasing me.'

He had learned long ago after a few painful reminders to stay away from the nicer parts of the village. Actually his experience with the rest of humanity was pretty limited. He had never really explored anywhere but the 'undesirable' part of the village. When he was younger, he would fantasize about it, thinking that there was like mountains gold and stuff like that. But as he got older, he just stopped caring and accepted his situation.

"Hello Naruto." Said an old man with a funny hat, after a second he recognized him as the Hokage and tried to scramble away. People were always hurting him in the name of the Hokage, so he understandably wanted nothing to do with him. As he tried to scramble back, he realized that everything hurt, a lot. Before he could fall off the bed and hurt himself even more, that strange ninja with one eye caught him and put him back in a more comfortable position.

"Take it easy, we're not here to hurt you, we just need to ask you a few questions." Said the ninja. Naruto didn't really believe him, but why would the leader and most powerful ninja in the village come and visit him?

"What do you want?" Naruto said still very worried, he had absolutely no way to defend himself. Even if it wouldn't have mattered, he didn't like the feeling of being a fish on the ground. He didn't think he could roll over without help right now.

"We need to know what happened." Said the white/silver haired ninja in a somewhat soothing tone. This only served to make Naruto even more suspicious, but he doubted he could lie to them, he had seen the 'low ranking' ninja jumping over rooftops and moving very, very fast. He couldn't even imagine what these guys were capable of.

"Well, I was digging through the trash behind the bakery were I assume I was found, sometimes they throw edible food away. And two older kids showed up so I started to leave, I didn't want to be around them, when I was walking away I was blind sighted by the third one…" he then proceeded to tell them everything he could about the fight, hoping that it would appease them. It didn't, not entirely anyway.

Sarutobi waited patiently and listened to Naruto's story. He needed to take it slow as the boy was clearly nervous and scared, so much so that he wasn't even trying to put up a front to hide it. 'he probably hasn't had good experiences with other shinobi, any cop patrolling that part of the city would have a short temper anyway, and it only makes it worse that he is seen as a reincarnation of the kyubi to a lot of people.' Also, he wanted to get a feel on how the best way to approach the subject. If anything had happened, it would be the last thing Naruto would want to talk about.

So far, it seemed that, judging by the way he was telling them in detail of how he had killed two people, he thought the be honest and truthful approach was the best way. Even though Sarutobi and Kakashi had decided that Sarutobi would find the best way to bring up the demon, and Kakashi would listen and give a kind of phyc evaluation from what he said later, how he said it, and his body language.

So Sarutobi was focusing on his job, but still, he couldn't help but notice the slight smile that crept up on Naruto's face whenever he talked about hurting them. He clearly had some very sadistic qualities. He would not have blamed the boy if he had turned into a total sociopath because of the way he had been treated. And as much as it hurt to even think of it, it wasn't confirmed that he wasn't one, at least in not his mind, if he wasn't. Sociopaths were very manipulative and very good liars. There entire thought process was different than normal people thus, making normal tests useless unless the examiner knew who he was dealing with. By the way Naruto was talking, and what he had seen through his crystal ball in his office, the few times he worked up the courage to bear his shame and look to see how he was doing, Naruto had so far grown up in the perfect environment to develop a killer.

"And then I woke up here." Naruto said hoping that it was what they wanted to hear and they didn't know more than they were letting on.

"I believe you." Said the Hokage being truthful. Naruto sighed in relief at this. "However," Naruto's heart stooped for a moment, if they found out that he had signed a contract with a demon, no matter what the motive, he would surly be killed. Deep down he already knew that they knew somehow. Why else would the Hokage and his apparent body guard bother with a surviving street urchin in another homicide?

"I do not think that you are telling us everything." he Said in a tone indicating that he was calm and not dangerous to him. Naruto was not convinced.

"I realize what we are asking, and would be very hard for anyone to tell anyone else. So I am going to be strait with you. Before anything else is said, I want you to know that no matter what is said, we are on your side. I swear I will do everything that I can to help you. I know you probably don't believe me, so just tell me what to do to gain your trust." This was it, Sarutobi thought, this was were something good will happen, or something bad.

Naruto was thinking hard, and was not sure how to answer that. He knew that they were telling him the truth, his gut instinct was telling him to believe him, but his brain was telling him not to. But, no one had ever talked like this to him before, the Hokage himself was being completely honest with him and wanted his trust, on top of that, he was asking him how to prove himself.

"Can you answer a question?" he decided on finally.

"Of course, as long as it doesn't expose any secrets that is classified." Naruto nodded at this in understanding and cleared his throat.

"How did you know about 'it'."

"Well that's a good question, and one I can't answer fully. But I can tell you that we have known about the demon for some time, and that it can only 'contact' certain people. You surviving brought you to our attention," naruto was almost relieved, someone he could talk to about it, or at least knew about it. That and that they knew about it and he wasn't dead, not yet anyway.

"That and something that Kakashi here noticed, he was the one by the way that got you to the hospital and saved your life." Naruto nodded in appreciation. If there was one thing, one lesson that he learned, was to respect the people who really deserved it. And if he was here, it meant that he probably knew about it when he saved him, that was good news and defiantly warranted respect.

"Here let me show you, try to stay calm now ok?" said Kakashi in gentle tone. Kakashi raised a hand held mirror so that he could see his own face. He instantly knew something was off, he wasn't sure what yet though. The first thing that caught his eye was how much swelling there was, not that that was anything new, but he was really fucked up. Then he noticed the whisker like birthmarks were a little darker and thicker than normal, nothing he couldn't deal with. Then he saw what was a dead give away. His eyes, they were still that deep blue sky color, but his pupils were now vertically slittled. That was very bad, something he couldn't hide something that he would be prosecuted and hated even more for. His jaw drooped in horror when he realized this. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, he noticed something else, his teeth. They were all clearly shaper than before, and his 'fang' teeth were now almost twice as long as before, and sharper. All in all, he had a very feral looking face now.

"Naruto," said the Hokage in a gentle voice, "I think you need to tell us the rest of what happened, and how you felt during it." Naruto nodded in acknowledgement. Now that it was clear that it was in the open, that he had done something, there was no point in hiding anything any more. So he told them everything, everything they wanted to know and more. They asked questions that he didn't even know that he knew the answers to. After he was done there was silence for a moment. Naruto closed his eyes waiting for death; something that no matter how bad things got or seemed, he would never submit to it before, he would defy it till the end, and only accept it only when he was dead. The killing blow never came instead; there was just the feeling of a hand griping his. Naruto opened his eyes and what he saw shocked him. The Hokage was crying.

"I am so sorry Naruto that you had to do that." He said, though he was quickly getting over his little weak moment. That was the last thing Naruto expected from the Hokage. From every single experience that he had ever had, any form of empathy was taken advantage of, and actually crying, especially if it was for help, drew even worse monsters out of the darkness like the predators they were. It utterly shocked Naruto, and his reaction was not missed by Kakashi.

"anyway, were going to take you off the amount of morphine that your on and give you something to help you sleep, even for you, enough exposure to this amount of morphine can be dangerous." Naruto nodded completely at ease. If they killed him in his sleep, that was great, it was a luxury that wasn't handed out very often. And besides, if they wanted him dead, he would be. Those were the thoughts he had before slipping into blissful unconsciousness.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Now back in Sarutobi's office, he and Kakashi discussed there findings, and future plans on how to deal with this.

"This can be very bad," said Kakashi in a depressed tone.

"I know, but we need to make our decisions wisely, and not in haste." Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"I agree, the first step is to find out exactly what the details of the contract he signed are," this time it was Sarutobi's turn to nod in agreement.

"We also have to be careful not to piss off the kyubi, for some reason he hasn't revealed his identity to Naruto, I don't think we should tell Naruto either, at least not yet."

"And there lies yet another problem," Sarutobi said while rubbing his temples. "If we want to find out anything, we more or less have to communicate through Naruto. And that means telling him a lot more than he should know."

"Yes, but I don't think we have a choice in the matter unfortunately." Kakashi said in a somber tone.

"well since we really cant do anything more on that now, and I think we should wait to do anything like that until he is healthy, lets move on to his psychological condition."

Turning back to Kakashi. Kakashi again sighed before he started.

"In short, he is a fucked up kid. I have to admit, for a little while I thought he was a sociopath,"

"So did I."

"But I don't think that anymore. I'm positive that he does have at least the semblance of a conscience, as he isn't genetically hardwired that way. But it will take a while to develop, though I don't think he will ever be completely as he should have been. This is just a theory, but I think that he would have had a sadistic nature to begin with, just like his father, but he never had anyone that understood him, or to guide him in the right direction and teach him right from wrong. That and the obvious fact that the environment that he grew up in more or less made it develop a lot more. Just from the evident calmness and joy that he had seemed to have when he was telling us about killing those kids, it's a wonder that he isn't a full blown psychopath. But I will need to observe him a lot more to confirm." Sarutobi accepted this as the truth; Kakashi was not an anbu captain for nothing.

"very well, have you come up with a plan yet?" sarutobi was referring to the plan to expose Naruto to a normal life, at least for a little while and try to get him to trust them. And at the same time not break the law.

"Yes actually. As soon as Naruto can be moved, ill take him to my place till he recovers, telling him that it's not that safe at the hospital. He will be suspicious of too much friendliness so ill tell him the truth that I won't be there that often due to missions and such. Ill leave him food, and simply tell him to take care of himself and not to mess up my place. That should satisfy him." Sarutobi nodded.

"Well I think that's enough for today Kakashi, you should drop by tomorrow and tell him our plan to find out about the contract."

"Right." Said Kakashi before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. The old Hokage sighed again and started to rub his temples.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So, you want me to 'talk' to this thing and figure out the details of whatever I agreed to." Said Naruto in a skeptical voice.

"In short, yes. But this doesn't need to happen right now, it can wait till you have recovered. Just keep in mind that the demon may contact you before that, so just try to prepare yourself." Kakashi was trying to be as honest as he could. It was going to be a very slow process, but he was going to try to soften Naruto up, though it was clearly going to take years. "Until then, we can't let you go until were sure your not dangerous to anyone." Naruto nodded, he had expected this.

"So what's your plan? Are you going to keep me in a cell or something?"

"What? No, you're going to be staying at my place when it's safe to move you. As I'm sure you have noticed, your healing rate is very fast, but it is still to dangerous to move you right now."

Naruto groaned, 'Great, something else that's different about me, though I suppose it could have been a lot worse.'

"At your place?" naruto was genuinely curious at this, it made sense that they would want to keep an eye on him, but to have this guy allowing him into his home? "and where is that?" thinking that maybe it was some kind of remote cabin in the mountains or something like that"

"Oh it's in a part of the village that you've never been to before; well I guess you could call it a home, it's actually an apartment. It's on the exact opposite end of the village than were I found you." Said Kakashi with his weird upside down eye smile.

Naruto wasn't sure weather or not this was a blessing or a curse, he supposed that he might was well take advantage of it while it lasted.

"But, I wont be taking you there for at least another week, so for now just rest. Sorry we really don't have any kind of entertainment, I'm sure you must be bored." Naruto just shrugged at this. He was actually enjoying his stay, despite the pain; he had never been a bed this comfortable, or slept without being cold.

"Well anyway, just thought you should know." Kakashi said smiling again right before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto blinked in surprise. He had a clear view of the door, and the window was still closed. 'Who the hell is this guy?!'

That's it for this week people.

Next time, on Renegade ball Z!! (I used to watch that show religiously. Just thought you should know. Lol)

_Told in that deep announcer voice._

Naruto will go and temporarily live at Kakashi's place. What will be his reaction to this new environment?! And what will happen with the kyubi? What will Naruto be required to do for the contract? Stay tuned for the next episode of **Renegade Ball Z!!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ok, its official, I have no life. This is the third chapter I have written in less than a weak. I'm not even going to bother guessing how little, or how often I will update. When I re read this, it seems that its going a little slow, rest assured Naruto will start a form of training, and then there will be a small time skip, hopefully all in the next chapter. Not to much gore or anything in the last two chapters, but rest assured, it coming.

-------

It had been a week and Naruto had not herd, seen, or well, anything about or from the Hokage, or that Kakashi guy. This both comforted, and made him nervous. Comforted, in that they weren't checking up on him, as far as he could tell anyway, this could mean that they either didn't see him as much of a threat, or had simply forgotten him. Neither seemed remotely realistic though. And he was nervous because he knew that they were going to come for him soon, he was just tired of waiting. He wasn't sure that they meant everything they said, and were probably lying to him. Or at the very least, they knew a lot more than they let on.

Kakashi was right; Naruto was bored, bored but comfortable. He wasn't bothered by anyone, so this left him a lot of time to think, and dwell on everything that was said. He remembered that in his unusually emotional state, he had missed a connection that was made. The Hokage had said that they knew about the demon for some time, which meant that they knew a lot about it and didn't tell him. For the most part, they had been honest with him, or at least let him know when they couldn't tell him everything. So they probably had a good reason not to tell him. But Naruto didn't like being left in the dark like this, so he was going to ask anyway and see what they had to say. He was also curious about that Kakashi guy, he seemed pretty strong. He was actually wondering how much he was going to be able to find out about him when Kakashi showed up. Or rather climbed through the window. This confused Naruto even more because they were at least seven stories up.

"Hi kid, all packed up?" Kakashi said in a joking manner seeing that Naruto apparently owned nothing. Naruto pretended to be offended when he actually felt better. He didn't know Kakashi was joking and thought he was just being a dick. Thus being somewhat familiar to him, made him feel at ease. "Oh ya, I brought you these, I don't think your eyes have had much exposure to how bright it is outside yet." Kakashi gave him a pair of sunglasses.

"Alright let's go." Kakashi said checking his watch as if impatient. Naruto started for the door but was stopped. "Where are you going? Come on, lets go." Kakashi said in a tone that was unfamiliar to Naruto. Kakashi was kneeling down and had his back to him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto asked clearly annoyed.

"Just hop on already, I do have other things to do today you know."

"You want me to get on your back?" Naruto said in an almost bewildered tone.

"Of course, now let's go!" Kakashi said feigning to be annoyed again.

"Ok." Naruto said in a skeptical way.

"Alright," Kakashi said when Naruto was secured in a piggy back position. Then he walked to the window and climbed out.

"What the fuck are you doing, are you crazy!" Naruto screamed squeezing Kakashi's neck with all the strength that he had.

"Just hold on tight." Kakashi said in an amused voice right before he jumped out the window.

"AAAHHHHHHH!!!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs forgetting that it was still hard to talk and breathe deeply. Naruto kept his eyes closed waiting for them to hit the ground and die, but the impact never came. The only thing he felt was the wind in his hair and that weird feeling in your stomach when you're rising or falling to fast. Naruto slowly opened his eyes and was convinced he was hallucinating for a moment, and then he remembered who he was with. To say Naruto was impressed was an understatement, this was amazing. They were practically flying over rooftops far faster than Naruto had seen those other ninja go. Though Naruto didn't know it, he had only barely scratched the surface of what ninja were capable of.

Kakashi wasn't even going as fast as he could, he was making sure that he landed lightly so this wouldn't hurt Naruto. That was, until he saw Naruto grinning like crazy in the corner of his eye. Kakashi smiled at Naruto and started to do some aerial acrobatics. Busting out back flips and gainers, and a whole lot of other things that were really only useful to show off with, but they were working. Naruto had started laughing and giggling; he was only seven after all. Kakashi purposely took a very long rout to his place to give Naruto more time to enjoy, this was the first time he had seen the kid so much as smile or show any sense of humor.

Naruto was having the time of his life, this was amazing. Even though he almost threw up a few times, it was worth it. For a little while, everything else was forgotten. None of it mattered, the demon, his wounds, the threat of imprisonment or death, the knowledge that he was just going to go back to the streets after all of this was done if he survived. It all disappeared for a precious few minutes. But all good things must come to an end.

Kakashi knew that he couldn't keep this up forever. The longer he did this, the more he would have to explain to Naruto when they did finally get to his place. So with that in mind, he went to his place and landed on the porch in front of the door.

"Whoa, what was that all about?" Naruto said on Kakashi's back. Kakashi inwardly sighed, 'I knew it'

"Oh that? That was just training; I do have to keep my dexterity up after all." Naruto nodded indicating that he believed him. He didn't know anything really about how ninjas got as strong as they did, and it wasn't something that was worth lying over. 'Besides, what was the problem? That was fun!' Naruto thought to himself while keeping a blank face on the outside.

"Shit! Where are my keys?" Kakashi muttered to himself while digging through his many pockets on his flack jacket. This went on for a few minuets with Naruto on Kakashi's back, and then Naruto got an idea. Though he doubted it would work, but it wouldn't hurt to try it. So he reached over and grabbed the doorknob and twisted. When the handle did turn they both froze. Naruto not sure if the deadbolt was locked pushed. Then, the door opened. They were both still for a second when they both sweat drooped. Kakashi sighed, and saw that Naruto was trying to hide a small smile. "Shut up." Kakashi muttered with another sigh pretending to be annoyed again. This caused Naruto to actually smile for a moment. Kakashi was slowly learning how to get Naruto to laugh.

Kakashi walked over to his couch and laid Naruto down carefully as he was still very sore. There was already a pillow there and the second Naruto's head hit it, he started to get tired. Within a few moments he was asleep. Kakashi put a blanket over him and checked the time; it was only one in the afternoon. 'Oh well, I think I made some progress today, although he will probably forget it when he wakes up. This little excursion probably exhausted him.' Kakashi left to finish his business for the rest of the day, which included reporting to Sarutobi on Naruto's condition. Making sure to lock the door on his way out, he felt that if Naruto did wake up, he would feel more comfortable this way. This may sound strange, but Naruto would never believe that he was anything but a prisoner kept for observation. Acting like it was anything other than that would just result in Naruto resenting them and defying any and everything they did to try and help him.

'Oh shit, how long was I out?' thought Naruto as he woke up to the all too familiar ache of pain. He remembered where he was and how he had gotten there. He felt different all of a sudden. His face hurt, not in the same way that it usually did when he got beaten up, but more like something he was doing was feeling very uncomfortable. Then he realized that he was smiling and instantly stopped. The uncomfortable feeling went away almost instantly, 'interesting.' Was the word that came to mind. He was a little hungry but he felt too lazy to get himself up and try and find some food. 'Actually what should I be hungry for anyway? What time is it?' Naruto checked the electric clock on the wall did a double take. 'No fucking way' was his first thought. It was one thirty in the morning, and he could see perfectly. No, he could see clearer and better than he could ever remember, and he could tell that it was pitch black. 'This is fucking awesome!' was the next thing that went through his head. He sat there thinking about all the cool things he going to be able to do with, and avoid with his new found night vision. Then he heard someone walking towards him. He instantly froze in place, instinct and experience had taught him that if he dove for cover, they would pick up the movement rather than the image; at least it was like that at night. But then that Kakashi guy walked in and walked right past him heading for what he assumed was the kitchen. Then he remembered that this was Kakashi's home after all. 'And a nice one too.' He thought in awe having never seen a clean apartment before.

"what are you doing up?" mumbled Kakashi as he trudged by still waking up, or just tired and up for whatever reason.

"I just woke up. How long have I been asleep?"

"Oh, just over twelve hours now." Responded Kakashi after consulting the same clock that Naruto had looked at. Opening a soda while telling him. Naruto watched him eagerly out of the corner of his eye trying to look inconspicuous as he still hadn't seen Kakashi without his mask. Little did he know that this was going to eventually turn into a life long pursuit with no end in sight. He never did see Kakashi's face; he somehow managed to move in just the right ways to get his face just out of sight. When half of his soda was gone, Naruto gave up and lost interest not caring anymore, at least for the moment.

Naruto was nervous, but so far they had kept there word to be honest and he was going to keep his. Though he really didn't care if he was dangerous or not, he could care less about all of the innocent people that he could kill, but Kakashi and the Hokage had earned his respect at least. And that deserved honesty. "Um, Kakashi?" Naruto said hesitantly.

"ya." Kakashi responded lazily while flipping channels on the TV. "I, um, noticed something different about me." Naruto said cringing slightly when Kakashi turned the TV off.

"And what's that?" Kakashi asked in an interested and now very awake tone. Naruto took a deep breath.

"I can see in the dark."

"How good is your night vision" Kakashi now very interested witch was making Naruto nervous. "It's better and clearer than I've ever been able to see in my life."

"I see. Well, we kind of suspected that because of the sensitivity to light you had when you first woke up. In fact, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch if all of your senses have been heightened." Kakashi said in a thoughtful tone. Naruto was relieved, they were expecting this and seemed to be fine with it. "Just so you know, when your ready, I have the ability to go with you when you see the demon." Naruto's eyes widened.

"You do?!" "Yep."

"How?"

"It's complicated to explain, but I just thought you should know it's an option." Naruto thought hard on this. "No, I don't know how it will act if you come. But ill ask next time I see it." Naruto promised. Kakashi nodded and was satisfied with his answer.

"Well, I'm a little hungry; you want me to get you something while I'm up?" Kakashi said while getting up off the couch and started to walk towards the kitchen. It took Naruto only a second of thought to answer, "Yes." 'Might as well take advantage of the free food while it lasts.'

Kakashi went and made two cups of instant ramen remembering that ramen was his sensei's favorite food. Naruto was skeptical yet again when Kakashi handed him a steaming Styrofoam cup of instant ramen. 'There's a surprise' Kakashi thought dryly, soon he wouldn't have to worry about pretending to be annoyed by Naruto. The second Naruto tasted it though, his face lit up, If only for a moment. 'Bingo' was the word that came to Kakashi when he saw Naruto trying in vain to hide how much he was enjoying the stuff.

"Hey, um. What's this stuff called?" Naruto asked trying to sound nonchalant as if he really didn't care. Kakashi decided to tease him a little bit.

"What stuff?" he said acting innocent, though not actually looking at him and still staring at he TV.

"Um, the food."

"Why do you want to know?" Asked Kakashi in a suspicious tone.

"Well, I uh, kind of like it." Naruto said the last part in a whisper.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." Naruto was getting angry, Kakashi knew exactly what he had said and was now just jerking him around.

"I LIKE IT OKAY!" Naruto screamed completely red faced. Kakashi looked unaffected and said in a tired tone and with a yawn while poking his inner ear with his pinky.

"Its called instant ramen, I'm going back to sleep. You should to; I'm going to wake you up in the morning. Goodnight."

Naruto was about to ask if he could finish the ramen before we went back to sleep when he realized that he had already finished it. 'I gotta find out how to get more of this stuff' he thought as he stared dumbly into the empty cup for a few seconds. Then he carefully laid back down and was asleep almost a soon as his head hit the pillow.

In the morning Kakashi woke him up briefly for a few minutes to explain the rules. They were pretty strait forward, "don't mess up my place, and clean up after yourself after you eat. Also, you're not allowed to leave the apartment, a least not yet anyway. Oh ya and there's nothing worth stealing in here that would be valuable to you, so don't bother looking. Other than that, just try and get some rest. Ill be back in a couple of hours." Kakashi said all of this before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, again. Naruto shook his head and went back to sleep. He woke up in the middle of the day and didn't feel like doing anything, it was the first time he had ever had the luxury of not having to watch his back and be on the lookout for food. So he was going to enjoy being lazy as he watched the mindless sitcoms while he waited for Kakashi to get back. The problem was, Kakashi wasn't back in a few hours, he didn't actually get back until like 11 o'clock at night. Thinking Naruto was asleep he just walked in and turned the TV off and went to bed.

The next couple of days went on like this. Not that Naruto minded that much; he was enjoying his privacy almost as much as he enjoyed that ramen stuff. Until the forth day when Kakashi got up one morning and walked up to him.

"Feel up to going for a walk? It's a good idea to stretch out your body now."

Naruto nodded, he was starting to get a small case of cabin fever. "Here, put these on." Kakashi said as he tossed him a bag with some clothes. "I hope they fit, I had to guess your size." Naruto took a closer look and realized that they were kids' clothes and decent ones to, all with an urban camo look and seemed to be pretty well built. "Why?" said Naruto, his eyes narrowing in distrust, no one gave anything away unless they were getting something in return.

"To spare my public image, cant have you walking around in hospital scrubs now can we?" Kakashi said with another smile. It made sense now, he didn't want to be embarrassed by him, but still, he didn't have to take him for a walk.

"Um, I don't know what to say." Said Naruto honestly bewildered. "Say thank you." Kakashi offered as he turned around.

'Thank you?' Naruto knew what it meant, but he had never ever actually used the words before. "Um, thank you?" Said Naruto clearly unfamiliar with the words.

"Your welcome, now go get dressed so we can leave."

Naruto complied and went to the bathroom, which was quickly becoming his favorite room in any home he ever happened to be in. Baths were not that common or really required were he lived, as everything always smelled pretty much the same anyway. Here, he could bathe whenever he wanted, even if it was just to soak in hot water. He did this frequently as it soothed the still fresh stitches and such. But now, he was quickly getting better. Actually, he could pretty much fend for himself right now if he had to, but he was determined to milk this experience for all it was worth. His clothes were pretty basic, but were still in a whole other class from what he was used to. It was a black long sleeved shirt that was a little loose feeling, a pair of boxers, and a pair of urban camy's for pants. These were quit possibly the best clothes he had ever had. He met Kakashi outside and was again reminded of how sensitive his eyes were. But they quickly adjusted this time. Still, Kakashi handed him a pair of sunglasses and he put them on without complaint. They just took a short walk to a park, which was quite possibly the most beautiful place he had ever seen, but he tore himself away from it, he wanted to ask Kakashi something. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ill answer it if I can."

"Can anybody become a ninja?"

This is what Kakashi had been hoping would happen. He had purposely done jutsu and more or less shown off in front of Naruto to get his attention pointed in that direction. But still, he played it cool. "Sure, as long as they start training when there still a kid." Kakashi answered in an offhand way acting as if he didn't see how much Naruto was hiding his excitement. There was one thing that he wasn't so sure about, if Naruto did become a ninja, he would eventually become very powerful. It was inevitable. But what would Naruto do with all of that power? For all he knew he would just go off and start killing anybody that crossed him, or learn just enough, go back to his neighborhood, and kill any and everyone there. "But you do have to have a good reason, or else they won't let you." He added still in an offhanded way.

"I see." And that was the last thing Naruto said for the rest of there little walk.

It was two days after that and Naruto was starting to get bored. He was almost all the way healed now and he wanted to go outside and do… well, he really didn't know. Then it came to him, he wanted to go fighting. That was always fun. To Naruto there was a big difference between fighting, and a fight. Fighting, in his mind, was kind of premeditated. When you were in a real fight, there was no warning. You were taken by surprise and either got the shit kicked out of you, or you died. When Naruto got in a fight that he knew was coming, usually it was a lot less dangerous, and a lot more fun. But he didn't think Kakashi would like that so he wouldn't do it, at least not while he was staying here. While Naruto was staring off into space contemplating all of this, Kakashi walked in.

"Oi, Naruto, I need to talk to you for a second." He said in a tone that had Naruto a little worried. "I'm leaving on a mission later today, and I won't be back for at least a week. I trust I can leave you here alone?" the last part being said in an almost threatening manner.

"Sure, I won't mess anything up." Said Naruto quick to reply.

"Good, now, while I'm gone, if anything happens regarding the demon, go to the Hokage's tower. It's not too far, so im sure you can manage."

"Isn't it a little dangerous leaving me alone?" Naruto said without realizing that he may have just reminded Kakashi put him in a cell or something.

"Yes, yes it is. But no matter what, eventually you will be on your own anyway, so there's no point in waiting and worrying. Besides, the Hokage himself is prepared to deal with whatever may happen." He said with a smile that Naruto wasn't sure if it was supposed to scare or reassure him. "On that note, you will be able to go outside."

"What?!"

"I didn't say you could go back to wherever it is you live, but you can go outside as long as you think you won't get lost. In fact, here's some money to spend and buy some new clothes with or something." Naruto took a peak in the wallet shaped like a stupid frog that Kakashi gave him. Naruto gasped; there was at least ten-thousand yen in there. Naruto immediately narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "if your wondering why im giving you that much money, well, I guess its because," Naruto was almost leaning forward in anticipation and tension. "Because… I feel like it!" Kakashi said with a smile and Naruto face faulted.

"You feel like it?" Naruto had no idea what this meant, or how to comprehend it.

"Well yes, you see, im in ANBU," this got Naruto's attention and he was soon listening intensely. "We get paid pretty well for our missions, problem is that we don't get much of a chance to spend our money, or else I wouldn't be living in an apartment. So, why not? Knock your self out, im pretty sure your not stupid enough to let people know how much you have, and wont spend it all on candy." Kakashi said with amusement as at the mention of the latter Naruto reddened a little bit, he was after all, just seven. And had spent the last couple of weeks in luxury. Kakashi was also glad that Naruto wasn't smart enough to realize that he wasn't supposed to tell anybody he was an ANBU black op's member.

Kakashi had left yesterday and Naruto was truly happy and excited for the first time in his life. He had pockets full of money, new clothes and some hand me ninja sandals, a full stomach, and the full intention of cracking some other kid's heads. Yes, this was going to be a great day. The first thing he wanted to do was find a weapon shop. He was tired of having glass knives break in his hands and other crude objects that didn't always work, or could hurt him almost as much as it hurt them. And he knew exactly what he wanted to buy. A trench knife. He had seen a lone shark use one on some hooker once; it was beautiful, so many different uses.

As he was walking around, blending in with the crowds for the first time in his life, he finally noticed a couple of kids a year or two older than him hanging out in a sort of alley between stores. Then, he noticed that they were pushing around a small girl. Normally, he wouldn't have done anything; he was brave, but not stupid. But when he got a better look at them he noticed that they were all wearing fairly new clothing. He didn't realize it, but he was staring at them while he was thinking, not actually seeing anything. 'What's with these guys? They have the same look on there faces as the other kids from my neighborhood, but there wearing nice clothes. Wait there's something off about them, it's like there playing or something.' Naruto was wondering and thinking about this when, before he realized it, one of them pushed him on the ground.

"Hey, the fuck are you staring at blondy?" said the tallest one in an intimidating manner. Then he caught a glance at the other kids behind him, all with eager expressions on there face, and one of them holding the girl in a kind of head lock. 'What are they waiting for? What is this guy waiting for? Im already on the ground, why is he still talking and not kicking the shit out of me?' then it hit him. They were faking it, all of them. They were just spoiled rich kids, like he saw from time to time riding in carriages on the only big road through the North West part of Konoha, they were just acting tough. Being pissed was nothing compared to what Naruto felt right now, he was seething. He wasn't even sure why he was so angry, he just wanted to kill every single one of these punks. Naruto didn't so much as yell or make a sound as he got up and socked the older kid in the gut, he doubled over were Naruto grabbed his hair and kneed him in the face, twice. The kid's nose pretty much exploded and he was on the ground just holding his face crying. The other three were so stunned that they just stood still as the watched Naruto grab a wooden chair from the right side of the alley and run towards them swinging it along the way. It hit the kid on the far right. The chair predictably just smashed against him and broke into a few dozen pieces. The now wounded kid with a broken arm was knocked against his friends and took them down with him, the girl suddenly no where in sight. Naruto didn't wait for them to get back up, so he took the remaining piece of chair that was still in his hands and just started to rain down blows on them, as many and as fast as he could. He had let his guard down though and the older boy from earlier grabbed him from behind and through him into the street. Before Naruto could get up and cause any more damage, both physical and egotistically, the kid took a piece of the chair and while taking a page out of Naruto's book, ran at him swinging.

Naruto was a getting up and turning around when out of no where, wooden plank, or something similar came in to view and hit him square on the jaw. The wood, already weakened from Naruto's earlier abuse, and the fact the kid was at least twelve, caused the piece of wood to shatter when it hit him. Knocking him flat on his back. To onlookers, it looked as if the wood had hit him with such force, that it simply exploded. At least that's what it looked like to Hiashi, Hinata, and Hana Huyga. Not to mention the body guards surrounding him. Naruto didn't wait to get pounced on the kid though, when the kid got close enough Naruto got on his side and kicked the boy in the side of the knee causing him to fall down with a scream. Naruto, again taking the initiative, mounted the boy and started to hit him as hard as he could, fully intent on knocking out every one of his teeth. Before he could get more than a couple hits in though, he was grabbed from behind and put into some kind of hold that he couldn't get out from, or use his hands. When he looked up, he saw why. Facing him were at least four tall and pale people with white eyes that had no pupils. 'Shit.' Was the only thing that could come to mind. He had herd rumors about these people, Huyga's, practically royalty with ninja powers too, and that meant that he was fucked.

Alright, there it is. Leaving it on a little of a cliffhanger, but really, who else could the girl be? And no, they will not meet now, Naruto move into the Huyga compound and fall in love. Sorry, not happening. Please review, my ego badly needs a boost.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Alright, here's the next one. I promised you gore, and I delivered it in this chapter. I hope it's alright, I kind of felt like I rushed this one a little bit.

Oh, and a special shout out to Wan Shi Tong, XxPyro-SamaxX, and P5yCH0. Thanks guys, I really appreciate what you said.

---

Hiashi was intrigued to say the least, at first he was angry, then shocked, curious, and finally he felt respect. He was angry and worried at first for a while when he realized that not only had his daughter managed to slip by not only him, but also the four body guards that were with him. Relieved, and angry when his daughter ran back to him bawling telling him between sobs about how she was being bullied by a couple of big boys and one small kid had saved her. They instantly set out to find and punish the ones responsible for daring to bully and lay their hands on a Huyga. They rounded a corner just in time to see a piece of wood explode on a small blonds face. His guards were just about to interfere when he stopped them. He was not the clan head for nothing, he saw that the boy was not unconscious and was waiting for the other one to get closer. He decided to give the kid his chance while he asked his daughter if he was the one that had rescued her. When she nodded that he was the one, he looked back and started to observe the kid much more closely. He didn't have a lot of time though as the kid was probably going to kill the older one if he kept hitting him like that. He gave a slight hand movement indicating that his guard should stop him. After his guard had restrained him, his mask of cold indifference nearly fell when he saw the face of the blond. There was no doubt about it, it was Naruto. Hiashi was no fool, he knew what, and what Naruto wasn't, but he didn't know anything about who the boy was. What you are is dependent on your genetics, but who you were was dependent on your experiences and how you reacted to them. He had known the boy parents quite well, but that was only a small piece of the puzzle in front of him.

Hiashi watched as Naruto at first struggled in vain, with an angry look on his face, then his face turned to that of shock when he realized who was standing before him, then to horror as he saw his sunglasses on the ground shattered, probably noticed he wasn't wearing them anymore when he felt the pieces of tinted glass in his cheeks, and finally his face turned into a defiant look when he looked right back at Hiashi and make eye contact. As if you say, 'Ya, what are you looking at?'

If the tall pale man was surprised or intimidated by Naruto's eyes, he didn't show it, his face was completely blank. He watched as the man started looking around and Naruto did his best to fallow his gaze. He first looked at the boy that Naruto had just been pulled off of who was still on the ground making weird noises right before he spit out a bloody tooth, which Naruto couldn't help but smirk at. Then he looked in the alley where the other kids were moaning on the ground trying to get themselves up to get away. Right then two Uchiha shinobi appeared on the scene and stopped the boys from getting away.

"Sorry about getting here so late Huyga-sama," said one of them with a slight bow, "we will take it from hear." Said gesturing to Naruto with a sadistic gleam in his eye. Naruto just glared back at the cop, he had never met this one before, but he knew that look, they didn't even know what had happened yet and he was already at fault. Basically what he had to look forward to was, about a week of getting the shit kicked out of him and then being kicked back out on the streets.

Hiashi caught the look in the cop's eye, and the look that Naruto gave him. He had come to the same conclusion that Naruto had and was not going to let that happen, 'I don't know why he interfered and saved my daughter, and it may have had nothing at all to do with her. But he still saved her none the less anyway.'

"That will not be necessary," Hiashi said in a commanding tone. "The boy saved my daughter from those maggots on the ground over there." Hiashi said nodding his head to were the mans partner had tied up, or rather had simply dragged over the other kids and set them down in a heap, they weren't going anywhere.

"I see, but does that really matter sir?" said the Uchiha in an honestly confused voice.

"The boy is innocent, and they are to blame, I don't see the misunderstanding." Hiashi said his voice in a now disgusted tone. The cop visibly winced and nodded, bowed again and left with his partner to take the other kids to the hospital.

"Now, why did you do it?" Hiashi was now facing Naruto and looking at him in the eye again. 'I'm going to have to ask the Hokage about that latter.' Hiashi thought making a mental note of it.

"They had it coming." Naruto responded without hesitation, still not breaking eye contact. Naruto was confused about one thing though, 'where is the girl I 'saved'?'

"I see, did this have anything to do with my daughter?" Hiashi wanted to know exactly why he had done it, he wasn't going to be able to keep Naruto much longer and he wanted to get as much information as possible.

"She had a little to do with it yes, but for the most part the punks were just being stupid and were just 'faking it', I really don't know how else to describe it." Naruto said in a pondering tone, he really couldn't understand why he had felt so angry, he just knew that those kids needed to get there faces broken.

Hiashi studied the boy for a few more seconds and nodded satisfied that he was telling the truth.

"I don't like being in anyone's debt. Here take this as payment for services rendered." Hiashi tossed Naruto a bag of coins after the guard had released him.

Naruto nodded accepting this and had just put it away when he caught a glance of a girl peeking around the man he was talking to, apparently hiding from him. She had the same pale eyes as her father, but her face was red. 'Is she sacred of me, mad at me? Why is she hiding, it's not like I can hurt her.' He just shook his head, girls were so weird.

After Naruto left, Hiashi tuned around only to realize that both of his daughters were hiding behind him. He was puzzled for a moment until he caught sight of the blush on his older daughters face. His younger daughter looking confused was probably just following her sister's example. 'Oh great.' Hiashi inwardly sighed. He was about to say something when he froze in place. 'Oh kami.' Hiashi's face paled even more than was natural as he remembered his former friend's exploits and what a 'lady-killer' he had been. The picking up of women on missions, the bragging about it later just to piss in off. All of this was passing though his head as he looked down at his Hinata and audibly groaned as he remembered his earlier thoughts on genetics and stuff. 'You be dammed Yondaime!' was the only thought he had as the first emotion seen on his face in public in years surfaced, a mixture of anger, and horror. He was sure he could see his old friend/rivals face in the sky laughing at him.

Naruto decided to cut his day short after that and just head back to Kakashi's place; he doubted anyone was going to sell a knife to a beat up kid anyway. After he got back to the apartment, he went into the bathroom and started to pick pieces of the sunglasses out of his cheek, he was going to have to figure out another way to hide his eyes. 'Might as well buy some new ones with some of the three-thousand yen that that Huyga gave him. With that in mind, he went to sleep.

**Naruto's mindscape**

Naruto opened his eyes and immediately knew where he was, back where that fucking demon lived. He gulped and swallowed down his fear as he set off to find the thing and get this over with. It didn't take as long as last time, but it was defiantly harder this time now that he knew what was going to happen. He took a deep breath and settled himself for whatever lay ahead, and started to walk into the chamber.

"_**Are you afraid now boy?" **_the demon said with a sadistic glee in its voice.

Naruto scowled, 'this thing knows full well that I am.' Naruto thought while he was contemplating just telling the thing to go fuck it self but he decided against it, and held his tongue. "Yes, yes I am." Said Naruto in a now annoyed voice. He was only to get even madder when he was responded to by a deep rolling chuckle.

'_**Interesting indeed, his is afraid, yet not afraid to admit it.' "We need to talk; the first of subjects is about your current caretaker, Kakashi." **_This caught Naruto's attention. _**"Tell him to come and pay me a visit, in private."**_

"In private?" Naruto was wondering if that meant he was going to have to wait in the sewer/hallway while they talked or something like that.

"_**I can hear what your thinking, so please stop, or at least try not to be an idiot. Just tell him and he will know what to do. Now on to the real reason of our little get together, our contract." **_The monster was now grinning which was making Naruto both very nervous, and scared. _**"Yes, we never really got to finish our little discussion from last time, did we?" **_Naruto was unsure if he was supposed to answer that or not, so he just shook his head. _**"Unfortunately that is why I have to talk to that mortal Kakashi, you're too stupid to have that long of a conversation with and remember it." **_ Naruto nodded dumbly, actually thankful that he wasn't smart enough, he wanted to be around this monster as little as possible. _**"Now, part of the deal that I can explain to you is going to force you to become something you already want to do, become a ninja." **_

For one perfect moment Naruto's whole world lit up, he was going to become powerful, strong, he was… and then he felt it. Bloodlust that was radiating out of the prison stopped all of his thoughts in a second. It was so strong that he dropped to his knees. It was almost like being infected with a virus, a virus that targeted every atom in his body, it felt like liquid fire running through his veins, he wanted to kill, butcher, and torture. He felt sick with it; it almost felt good to be this completely consumed by just an emotion from this monster. It stopped as suddenly as it came on. Just the fact that he was having dry heaves and convulsing in his own mind was enough evidence of how potent it had been. He wasn't even sure how he was supposed to feel about it. The monster however, continued to go on as if nothing had happened at all, though on the inside it was chuckling having done that on purpose, just to see the boy in the fetal position he was in now was an amusing enough reason to expose him to that.

"_**First, you need to get out of the city and into the surrounding forest. I will briefly summarize on what you are to do once you get out there." **_The kyubi then told Naruto, who was still lying in the fetal position, how to survive out in the wilderness. Although he left a lot out, simply telling him the basics on how to survive, leaving him to figure the rest out on his own. Then he told him about basic strengthening exercises to do. _**"oh, and one more thing, if your not out there within two weeks, well we will start to have extended visits you and I." **_the kyubi said this with a wicked grin clearly stating that those visits would not be pleasant. Naruto quickly nodded, and then as if nothing had happened at all, he was back in Kakashi's apartment. Naruto promptly ran to the bathroom and threw up.

The next day Naruto set out to find a weapons shop. It was a little harder to find than he thought it would be, but he got what he was looking for. His brand new knife that cost him four-thousand yen was a work of art. He bought it out of a ninja store so it was very well made. It was a reverse grip trench knife, with the blade on both sides. It was about two and a half inches wide, the blade it self being eight and a half. The smith had also somehow figured out a way to forge the blade black, so it wouldn't reflect light. Then there was the built in steel knuckles, while not bladed themselves, still could cause a lot of damage. He couldn't wait to test it out on somebody's face. The sheath and belt was designed to wrap around him, one loop went around his mid section, while an additional strap that was connected went over his right shoulder leaving the knife to rest in the front on his right ribcage.

Later that day he spent an additional five-thousand yen on different clothes and equipment that would come in handy, a hatchet, and flint stones were among the things he bought. He bought some combat ready clothes for every part of his body; this covered everything from gloves, to socks. He would never understand why everyone didn't where combat ready clothes, they helped you blend in with camouflage, they had a lot pockets, they were easy to clean, and easy to repair if they happened to get torn. They almost never wore out though, they were designed to last, how can you go wrong? He was the most proud of his cloak though. It could hide him, keep him warm, and had a lot of built in pockets. It was a dark green color, making it perfect for the forest. It was worn over all of his other clothes on his shoulders, and had two very well made clasps that strapped it to his chest, rather than his neck. All in all, he looked like a completely different person now, albeit a very young and small person, but looked different none the less. He soon ran out of money though, but was still satisfied with his purchases, though it had been hard to find stores that were willing to sell anything to him. He did however find that he was most likely to get a good reaction out of stores whose owners were either ninjas, or had ninjas in there family. So he kept an eye out for them and made a mental note of where they were for future reference. He knew that he knew almost nothing about living in the wilderness, even if it was very close to Konoha, he was going to be on his own. But he figured that he was prepared as much as he could be.

Kakashi was three days late, which Naruto was beginning to expect, but he also had a present ready for Naruto.

"What's this?" Naruto asked eyeing the box Kakashi was holding out to him as he accepted it cautiously.

"It's a present," Said Kakashi with an eye smile. "To help you out when you get to the woods." Naruto's eyes widened at this.

"How did you know?" Naruto replied, the shock in his voice evident. Kakashi had literally walked in the door a minute ago and had somehow figured out where he was going.

"The Anbu that were watching you told me about it when they reported to me. It's pretty obvious where you're planning on going based on the gear and equipment you've been buying." Naruto nodded at this, expecting that he was going to be followed. Sometimes he could have sworn that he could feel someone watching him. "What made you want to head outside the city though?"

Naruto took a deep breath. "The monster told me too."

Kakashi's eye widened, "ok, tell me what happened." Naruto proceeded to tell him just a brief summery, saying it hadn't told him why, just that he had to.

"But it also wants to meet you, in private. It said that you would know how to do that." Naruto said in a relieved tone.

'I don't blame him; I don't relish the idea of meeting that thing either.'

"Ok, here's how this is going to work, I'm going to put you to sleep, and then ill do my thing, you will be asleep for the rest of the night, so you can leave in the morning. Ok?"

Naruto nodded, wondering if he was going to hit him and knock out or something, but Kakashi just got on his knees and reached for the metal plate with the leaf symbol covering one of his eyes. "Are you ready?" Naruto nodded. Kakashi raised his haitai and Naruto caught a glimpse of Kakashi's sharingan spinning before he fell asleep.

Kakashi took a deep breath, 'alright, here I go.' He lifted Naruto's eye lid up and entered his mind. Kakashi found himself in the sewer that was Naruto's mindscape. He took another deep breath and started walking down the corridors, following a killing intent so potent that you could almost see it in the air. It wasn't long before he came across the great gait with the seal on it.

"_**Kakashi Hitake, we meet again. Well, lets get this on with. First let's start with all of your questions; list them all, I don't like being interrupted when I talk." **_The Kyubi stated as if its time was being wasted. Kakashi nodded.

"What are the specifics on the contract signed, what does Naruto have to do to keep his end up, how has this changed him both physically and mentally, why are you helping him, why do you want Naruto out of the city, and…" Kakashi took a breath and added his own question that he had been wondering for seven years. "Why did you attack Konoha?" Kakashi was hoping that would be the extent of his conversation with the Kyubi, it was unnerving being this close and seeing it again through the gait. Though he suspected otherwise, there had to be something it wanted if it asked to talk to him.

"_**Very perceptive Kakashi, but know that I can hear your thoughts in here, I may be imprisoned, but I own this piece of Naruto." **_Kakashi had to control himself not to gasp; he really didn't like the idea of this thing in his head. _**"I don't feel like going into specifics of the seals that make up the contract, but I can tell you what exactly it requires of both of us." **_The Kyubi then started to tell Kakashi what exactly had started to happen when Naruto had signed it. _**"And that's all I have to say about that. Physically, it simply increased his overall potential, he may be a little stronger now, but he will have to earn the strength that he can achieve now. As far as mentally, nothing has been done, there was no need to change any of that, you made sure that he was everything I could ever want." **_Kakashi wanted to ask what the fox meant by this, but held his tongue. The Kyubi simply rumbled a chuckle, Kakashi assuming that it had read his mind. _**"You humans never cease to amaze me in how stupid you can be. The fact that the boy could even be bonded with me means that he would have ended up somewhat like he is now no matter how he was raised. Just like his sire. Lets think hypothetically for a moment, pretend that I wasn't in the equation at all, and consider this. Your counsel intentionally put a natural born killer in a violent area, and let him raise himself. Knowing how powerful he could and probably would become. You know that I'm not the only reason why he is dangerous. Like I said, just when I think that humanity couldn't possibly do anything stupider, you somehow manage to pull it off." **_The Kyubi laughed this out and Kakashi realized it was right. It was entirely there fault that Naruto ended up the way he was, 'what were they thinking? Were they trying to create a monster in it self. Even without everyone hating him for the Kyubi this could not have possibly turned out much different.' Kakashi shook his head and felt disgusted at the stupidity of the counsel, and shame at himself for not seeing this sooner and getting him out of there, the law be dammed. _**"As for why I want him out of the city, that is so he can start to get stronger and get used to living life a different way. It will make it easier to adapt to different things in the future. Then there is the matter for which I summoned you here, you will allow him to become a ninja. As for why I am helping him, that is the simplest answer of all. It is fun, and I'm bored. We are done here, leave. Oh and to answer 'your' question, I did it because I could do it, and that is it. There is no conspiracy at work, or any evil deed that I was punishment for, I felt like it, and that is all there is to it." **_ The last thing Kakashi saw was the Kyubi smiling that nightmare of a grin while it laughed a deep throated roar.

Kakashi opened his eyes and found himself on the ground trembling and sweating. 'What a monster.' Was his only thought.

Naruto left the next day, it turned out that Kakashi's gift was a pair of very decent boots, when Naruto asked why he was giving them to him; Kakashi just told him that he wanted to give them to him because that is what friends do. Naruto didn't know what to make of this, but accepted them anyway.

'Before I head out, I need to make one stop first.' Thought Naruto while he was smiling and patting his knife. He was going to track down that kid that slit his throat and thank him for giving him the opportunity to go were he never thought he would be able to. Of course, he was going to die somewhere in the thank you process. It wasn't that hard to find the kid, it was the middle of the night when he finally did, but he wasn't alone. The kid was living with some other gang rejects on the bottom floor of an abandoned building. It was also raining by the time he got there which was good for cover. Naruto had counted three on the inside that he could see, and one outside standing guard. Naruto had never felt this alive in his entire life, every part of him was coiled to spring, his senses were sharp, he could hear and smell like he didn't know was possible, and never had everything been so crystal clear. He didn't know why, but his instincts were telling him to get above the guy outside, he didn't see why not, so he climbed up on the opposite side of the building and made his way across the roof to the fire escape that was right above the guy. Naruto climbed down until he was about ten feet above the kid, who was preoccupied reading a porn magazine. Naruto threw a rock across the way to get the kid out in the open. He waited for the kid to walk out a little ways and then with his blade already drawn, simply stepped off the railing. He landed with both feet on the kid's shoulders while he buried the blade all the way up to the hilt in the kid's skull. As the kid collapsed, he smoothly did a back flip and landed quietly in a crouched and on guard position.

'That was great, that was more fun than being on Kakashi's back while he was runni…. How the hell did I do that!' Naruto turned back around to look at the body, which was still spurting blood out of the giant hole in the dead center of the top of the head. He couldn't explain it, it just came to him, it just felt right. Naruto looked at his blade that was coated in blood that was dripping off and onto the rain soaked ground and shrugged, 'oh well, just go with it I guess.' Naruto was never one to question and ponder over things that he couldn't make sense of, he just accepted it, and moved on. Naruto made quite a stunning figure, in his full combat attire, with the hood on his billowing cloak drown up as he cautiously snuck into their base. The first one he found was in what they were calling a kitchen poring a glass of milk for himself in a piece of plastic tuppaware. Milk was hard to come by, so he waited for the kid to finish pouring it and hold it up to start drinking it before he made his move. Just as the kid was about to drink, Naruto snuck behind him and smoothly slit his throat with the knife in his right hand, while his left hand gingerly took the plastic container of milk when the kid let it go to grab his throat. After Naruto finished the milk, he crouched down next to the kid and smiled and waved to him as if to say 'bye bye' as the kid bled out. He got out lucky, he really didn't suffer. He carefully crept through the rest of the place until he herd voices arguing over a game of cards, 'hey Lee go and see what's taking sonuoske so long with the fucking chips" that was the kid. 'That voice is definitely his.' Thought Naruto excitedly as he waited for the bastard's friend to walk out of the room. The next kid was a little bigger than the other two, not that it really mattered, they were all at least five years older then him anyway. Naruto waited behind a corner that he knew the kid had to come by to get to the kitchen and positioned himself and the knife so that the kid could just walk into the blade, but that wouldn't have been as much fun. As soon as the teenager rounded the corner Naruto pushed the blade all the way into his solar plexus and pulled down as hard as he could. The blade gutted him like he was paper, and all of his insides, from intestines to organs spilled out of him like a wet sack of meat splitting open. The kids lungs were apparently nicked or something as he appeared to be trying to scream but couldn't make a noise. As Naruto was walking back towards the game room he herd a toilet flush as he walked by an apparent bathroom. 'I didn't think there would be running water here.' He thought idly as he waited right in front of the door with the blade ready. As soon as the kid opened up the door he slashed with is blade and cut at least three quarters of the way threw the neck, right before he got a wonderful view of the inside of all of the necks different arteries and veins and other things he couldn't recognize as the weight of the head peeled back the wound like it was one of those handheld pezz candy dispensers that he saw rich kids playing with, he realized that it was a girl that he had just killed. Though he was only moderately surprised that this didn't bother him at all ,and he enjoyed killing her as much as the others.

Naruto was standing right behind the kid who had almost killed him. Normally, he would already be dead; people generally think that there is some kind of honorable and a right way to kill someone. This is complete bullshit, at the end of the day, even if you poison your enemy or kill him in there sleep, you are still breathing and they are not. What gets people in trouble, especially when its vengeance there after, is that they want the person to know that there going to die. But Naruto knew this and was prepared to kill him right away if something went wrong, or it wasn't convenient. But as it was, he had a chance, so he hit the kid in the back of the head with the brass knuckles part of the blade knocking him out. He then drug him into the center of the room, took some kitchen knives, and crucified his hands and feet to the floor. Just as he was waking up he noticed the kids club thing, he smiled, sheathed his blade and went over and grabbed it.

"Ahhh!," the kid screamed in obvious agony. "Who are you, what do you want?!" Naruto just pulled his hood off and smiled.

"I just," Naruto grinning when he saw that the kid recognized him. "Wanted to say thank you." Then Naruto hit the kid in the face with his own club, but I got stuck on something so Naruto tugged hard, and in doing so, tore out his right eye. The kid was now screaming for his friends and his mama to come and save him, as he was doing this, Naruto thought that his mouth made an excellent target, so he hit him in the mouth next, wriggled it around a little and tore off a piece of the kids jaw, and most of his tongue. Before the kid died, Naruto mounted him and pulled his blade out and smiled into the kid's one working eye. He then started punching the kid's already mangled face smiling the whole time. It didn't take long before his whole face caved in, and there was nothing left to identify him by any more. He had even managed to somehow remove the kids jaw by punching him. Naruto got up and considered burning the place down, but got a better idea. Instead, he used the blood and spelled on the wall, "I AM BACK!" Naruto stepped back and laughed as he wished he would be able to see the look on the faces of whoever found this mess.

Naruto left the building, found were he had stashed his expensive camping backpack with all of his stuff, and left in the direction of the woods.

--

Ok, that's it. I am proud of that last scene, please review.


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the next one people. I know that it's a little shorter than the other ones, but I hope that the really good scene makes up for it. Ill try and get another one up soon. Please Review though.

**------ **

**Chapter 5**

It had been about six months since Naruto had left to live in the woods. Over the course of those months he had learned a lot about just about every part of life. But still, it was better than any kind of life he had lived so far. Before, other than just staying hidden and making sure that he was by a garbage can nearby so he could get food. All that was left to do was think. And since Naruto had only experienced bad things thus far, he was basically focusing and building his hate for everyone, and everything. But out there, he was always busy, there was always something that he could do, no matter how much supplies he had. Over time he came to actually be grateful to the demon to which he was bound. He was still scared of it, but it was because of it that he was alive and living this way.

Life wasn't easy in the woods though, far from it. Especially when he first got there. For example, his first home was a cave, which turned out to be a huge mistake. When it rained, he got soaked, and he didn't feel particularly safe there anyway. But he had no idea on what to do about it, and figured it was just something he was going to have to deal with. That was, until he saw the giant spiders.

He first encountered them when he was hunting, or rather he was just studying a herd of these very big deer, which were actually elk but he didn't know that, trying to figure out a way to kill one and haul it back so he could eat it. What he didn't realize was that he had followed them right to the fringes of the Forest of Death. While the herd was grazing, one of them strayed a little to close to the trees. A giant spider jumped on the back of it from somewhere up high. Naruto didn't know that spiders could get that big; it must have weighed sixty to seventy pounds. As the elk panicked and tried in vain to shake off the spider, that had already bitten it, four more of them came out of the trees and charged at it. They proceeded to shoot there webs and trip it up. After it was on the ground, it couldn't get back up and it died shortly after. Naruto watched on in fascination as the spiders rapped up the elk, and drug it back into the forest.

Naruto, being very careful, followed or rather tracked them at a distance. It wasn't hard, it's not like the spiders could hide a trail from dragging a deer that weighed close to a ton. After a ways, the trail just stopped. He was disappointed at first, but then he heard a noise that sounded almost wet from above. He didn't make any sudden movements as he looked up and saw that he was right below there web nest. Then he saw the elk being lifted up by a few of them up into there web. They either didn't notice him, or didn't care. Either way, he looked around, took as much in as he could, and got the hell out of there.

When he got back to his camp, he realized that he had just found the solution that he was looking for. He was going to build a tree house kind of deal. As it turned out though, it was a lot harder to do than he initially thought. Actually it wasn't until he went into town to sell some of the rabbit and coyote pelts that he had killed and skinned that he saw a ninja store that had a lot of books on those sorts of things. He actually made good money off selling the pelts, he didn't sell them to the public, rather to tailors and store owners that would make them into coats and such and tell people that they were actually elk pelts or something like that. He was lucky that the store owner happed to be cool with him and actually helped him pick out everything that he would need. As it turned out Naruto could afford to buy a lot more when he wasn't being ripped off by clerks who added extra things to his bill.

Naruto came out of that store with a hatchet, a saw, very good needles and thread, and three books. One was on how to make your own tools in the wild, one was on hunting and how to really skin animals the right way, with a couple of chapters in it for making your own clothes and such, and the last one being on what plants were safe to eat and use of healing things and how to cook good meals out of what you had. In addition to all of these things, Naruto also walked out with an empty frog wallet.

After four months of hard living, Naruto finally felt he had a grip on things. From those books he had finally built a small tree house for himself, he was truly proud of his work. It was small, but it was only meant for him to sleep in anyway. One lesson that he had learned and brought from his old neighborhood was to never keep all of your things in one spot. Naruto had his supplies spread all over his section of the woods, and even some emergency rations that were a little farther away. Other than that, Naruto was almost happy for the first time in his life. He did miss fighting, but he could deal with that. He bought books on different spots around the leaf village within a couple days walk, and went on his own camping trips.

As for how he was physically, he was many times stronger and in better overall shape than when he first came out here. This was because of several factors, one of which was that living on your own in the wild was not easy, and you had to get strong in order to haul things around and build things. His hunting built up his stamina and strength and speed, especially when he got in good enough shape to chase down the smaller deer around the place. Learning from the book, these particular deer were very smart and wouldn't fall for the spring traps and pit falls that he set up. So, he literally had to chase them down and wear them down. As you can imagine, this required insane amounts of stamina, but for some reason, Naruto had those reserves and it wasn't long before he could actually keep up and chase them down. And probably the most important was that not only was Naruto eating every day and on a regular basis, he was eating healthy. After six months of living out there, he must have put on fifteen pounds. Before he was practically all skin and bones, now he looked like an athlete. He wasn't cut and ripped or anything like that, he was almost eight years old at this point, but he was defiantly bigger and a bit more defined than he used to be.

Another thing that he wanted to work on was his training for his future profession. When he decided that he should start training, he got another visit from the monster in his sleep. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but he did get some good advice, or at least he thought it was good advice. After he acted on the monster instructions he decided to never again do anything that it explained in detail, since it usually only gave him general instructions. It had told him that in order to get faster, he had to find a bee hive and punch it as many times as he could. The monster assured him that he would run faster than he ever ran before. Much to Naruto's horror, it worked.

About two months after this incident, Kakashi paid Naruto a visit. Naruto asked Kakashi if it was a real speed exercise. Kakashi's reaction was understandable; he fell on the ground and laughed until he couldn't breathe while Naruto just pouted and gave him dirty looks. After he was done laughing, Kakashi offered to teach Naruto some things to get him started. When Naruto asked what the catch was, Kakashi just said it was a gift and he could take it, or leave it. Naruto didn't understand what it was with this guy, but just decided that he was weird like that and accepted his offer.

Before he began teaching him though, Kakashi complimented Naruto on his living situation; he had to admit that he was impressed. He had sown together the hides of animals to more or less make the roof of his tree house, or at least a cover for it. If Naruto had done a good enough job, and he did, it would easily keep him dry no matter how bad things got. Then there were Naruto's clothes. After a while, he had replaced his combat clothes with the warmer and more comfortable clothes of leather. Apparently Naruto had learned to make them from a book, though he still wore his hooded strapped cloak. Naruto tried to shrug it off, but Kakashi could tell that he was proud and happy of the compliment. Even if Naruto didn't admit it, he may not even have known himself, he did want Kakashi's approval and acknowledgment.

Kakashi spent two days out with Naruto showing him the basics of the basics, as Naruto had never had any kind of real training in his life. He taught Naruto how to do pushups and sit-ups the right way, and different ways to work different muscles, how to punch and kick different ways, and the right way. Naruto was surprised to find out that the way he had been punching for years was a good way to break your wrists. Another thing Naruto asked about was something the Kyubi had 'suggested', though Naruto didn't do it because of his first experience. It was something called bone conditioning. Kakashi assured Naruto that this was in fact a real thing and was a good thing to do for any fighter. It consisted of punching and kicking rocks and trees, 'the right way' to make your bones stronger. When Naruto asked why this happened, Kakashi explained it and it actually made sense. Basically, when you punch or kick something over and over again, your body knows that the bones are being damaged, so it sends calcium and other things to the bones in order to make them harder and denser.

One thing that Kakashi really wanted Naruto to learn was his father's style of fighting. As Kakashi saw it, the Flying Thunder God technique was Naruto's by right, so he might as well start to teach him the basics of it. Of course, Naruto still had a very long way to go before he could even start to try to practice the technique. The human body was not meant to travel like that. The Forth had spent years conditioning his body to handle the strain. So he had to get a lot faster and just keep getting faster for starters. He had gotten the idea from Gai, a friend of his, on how to start this. Of course, he wasn't going to make Naruto wear those bulky and ridiculous looking weights. So he used something that Naruto's father had invented. They were bracers and shin guards that could be worn under the clothing. They reacted to the chakra level of the user and thus automatically adjusted the appropriate weight. Naruto thought he was full of shit at first and that he was just jerking him around because they put at least forty pounds on his arms, and fifty on his legs. Needless to say, it was hard for the boy to walk for a little while. Naruto, like his father, had a naturally massive supply of chakra. It was true that the Kyubi added to the effect, but like it said, it would only increase the overall limitations on everything, and it was up to Naruto to work for them.

After Kakashi had finished showing Naruto the first forms and katas of his fathers style for Naruto to work on, he spent almost half a day working on Naruto's stealth. With the chasing of the deer to work on his conditioning and speed by it self, he just had to show Naruto how to get started on hunting the right way, or at least the more ninja way. Naruto had not made a bow and arrow because it required a lot of work, and it took a long time to make them. Not to mention the arrows themselves were a pain in ass to make and you really only got to use them once, usually. But Kakashi told him to go ahead and make one, and then hunt with it the way he taught him. Naruto started after Kakashi left, it took almost a month to make it. There were faster ways, but if Naruto was going to do it, he was going to do it the real and right way. One of the reasons that it to so long was the materials to make it were hard to come by and took a long time to get. For example, he needed grease from fat to soak the string in and other pieces of the bow. In the end, it came out nicely.

**One year later**

Naruto had been out in the wild for a little over a year and a half now. And he was almost nine. He really took the lessons that Kakashi had given him to heart; he practiced and did the exercises everyday. He also pretty much lived with the weights on now. If he was carved out of wood before, he was chiseled out of granite now. His legs and knuckles could now deal a lot of damage. He didn't even feel it when he punched a rock now. He hunted the way Kakashi had taught him, and even came up with his own strategies. One thing he would do was dig a pit fall, and chase an elk into it, that way the big spikes at the bottom would do the job for him. He also realized that he couldn't possibly eat all of that meat by himself before it all rotted, even if he dried some of it out to make jerky. So he started to cut his kills into pieces and gut them right on the spot. He took what he needed, meat, the hide, the antlers, and a few bones. Then he just left it there and let the other animals finish it off. Though he found out one night that this did attract animals to his home, one night a bear climbed up the trees to get at him and his food. Of course he killed it, but it almost took him with it. And he had a giant scar on his back to prove it. He had to go to the hospital that time. He was lucky that the Kyubi healed him up to an extent. Because of it, he wouldn't have as much of a scar, though it couldn't stop and get rid of it all together. If he was hurt bad enough, he would still scar. So, what he took away from all of this was to hunt a ways away from where he slept.

'Something's missing.' Naruto thought to himself. He couldn't figure it out, but it felt as if he wasn't doing something he was supposed to be doing. He couldn't figure out what, he did all of the exercises, and it wasn't boring. On the contrary, it was a lot of fun. He even got good enough to go and hunt in the jungle/forest were the huge animals live. But still, something was wrong. He tried to think of a time when he didn't feel that way, and what he had been doing at the time. Suddenly it came to him, and he grinned his nightmare of a grin, due to his teeth. He wanted to kill someone. He often thought fondly of the night that he had killed those kids and the smell of there blood on him. He couldn't wait to start to get paid for doing those things. He shuddered in ecstasy and excitement. "Tonight's the night!" he practically shouted at the emptiness around him. Actually he wasn't home right now; he was on the Hokage monument/cliff on the Fourth's head. In his opinion, the forth was the most kick ass Hokage of all of them. He was the only one that could kill the nine tails. He ran back to his place to plot out and plan the rest of his night.

Naruto was back in his old neighborhood. He figured that as long as he didn't go too over board, no one would notice, or care, if a few tweakers or crack heads were killed. Actually, it was almost legal. He was simply going to put himself in a situation that he could just call it self defense if he happened to get caught. So, that's exactly who he was hunting. He felt alive again, like he did that night a year ago. But he was a whole different kind of animal now. All of his senses alert, his body coiled to spring, he was almost shaking in excitement. As he looked down an alley, he saw a homeless person that was scratching himself none stop. 'Score, first kill of the night.' Naruto smirked to himself.

A bum looked up and saw a kid walking down his alley. He looked closer and saw that the kid looked like he came from money. He looked around and saw that no one was near by. The tweaker smiled to himself, sure that he was going to be able to buy some tar from his dealer. 'I'm not going to ask him for his shit, ill just jump him and stab him to death and then go through his stuff.' Thought the man as he slowly reached for his knife, not getting up or moving as too not alert the kid to his intensions. But what he didn't see was the hand made bone tomahawk that the boy was hiding under his cloak.

Naruto was trying to act casual, but it was so hard. With his unbelievable night vision, he saw the man go for a weapon and tense up, waiting for him to walk by. Naruto had his tomahawk in his right hand, just waiting. As soon as the older man jumped up and tried to stab Naruto, Naruto pivoted on his left foot sliding his right foot back turning his body to the side making him a smaller target. As he did this his left hand shot out struck the guy's wrist, not to block or stop or grab the mans knife hand, but just to knock it away and more or less push it in a different direction. As he was doing all of this, his right arm cocked back and whipped forward. Naruto caught a look of shock on the mans face right before his tomahawk buried itself in his face. The guy tried to scream, but Naruto was already moving to prevent this. As he hit the guy, he kept his left hand close to his body, when he saw the guy was about to scream, he used the back edge of his hand, which he later learned was actually called a knife hand, to hit the guy in the throat. The guy was now obviously in a lot of pain, but Naruto didn't care. In-fact, he was enjoying this moment. He started to smile without realizing it as he reached down and removed the tomahawk from his face. As he did so, some brain matter spilled out through the hole. Just for good measure Naruto hit him two more times in the face splitting his head open like a peanut. Whoever he was, there was no way anybody would identify him now.

Naruto looked up and saw that it was almost light already. He frowned, his fun was only just starting, and there were so many different ways he wanted to kill people too. But, this did give him a chance to test out the explosive note that he bought earlier that week from that ninja store. The owner had been hesitant at first to sell it to him, even though the guy was cool with Naruto, he was still only eight. When he asked why he wanted it, Naruto answered truthfully that he wanted to see what it could do, and he wanted to blow up some watermelons he found. The guy just laughed and said ok, but he would only sell him one. But he didn't end up using it on watermelons, 'oh no, I've got a much better plan' thought Naruto as he grinned his nightmare of a grin. He wanted to get back at some of the rich people that had always spit at him and gone out of there way to hurt him. Like telling there kids it was ok to gang up on him. But he would get them back.

"Ohhh, what hit me?" Kichirou moaned to himself. The last thing that he remembered was him and his friend Masao going through there take of that night. They had just robbed a ramen stand and were now counting what they had and what to do with it. Then there was nothing. He assumed that he was knocked unconscious. As he slowly adjusted to the light he looked around. He wasn't sure were he was exactly, but he knew it was in the rich district of the town. This was because they were in an alley, but it was moderately clean. As he slowly got up, he looked to the left of him and saw his friend lying there with blood on the back of his head.

"Hey, wake up Masao, we were robbed." He said in a pained voice as he shook his friend awake. They got there bearings together and looked around to see if there was anything around that was there's. As it happened, both of there money sacks were just a few feet way, hidden under a trash can lid. They both got up and made their way to it.

Naruto was ecstatic, they were finally awake. It was harder than he thought it would be. Knocking them out was the easy part, getting them a mile into the rich district without being seen was the hard part. Then at some point they started to wake up again, so he had to hit them again. They couldn't wake up for a couple of hours. To make sure they didn't, he waited with them after he positioned them the way he wanted. After that, he set his trap and left when the shops opened up. Now he was across the street and on the roof of a building next to directly across where the alley was. With his eyes he easily saw that they were waking up and he waited in anticipation as they went to retrieve their belongings. What they didn't know was that he had rigged them up so that the explosive note that he bought would blow after they lifted the trash can lid. But that wasn't the genius part of the plan.

He watched from cover as they lifted it up together and them, BOOM. It was the perfect explosion. There wasn't a lot fire, but more sheer force behind it. It blew them to pieces, literally. However, because of the angle they were facing, there body parts only had one place to go. Right across the street, into a now very busy day care center. Because of the lack of fire, there was no cauterization, meaning that everything was still wet. All was silent for a moment as everything sunk in. It was the most hilarious thing Naruto had ever seen. All of the children and adults started screaming all at once. Naruto even saw one of the two boy's eyeballs land in a little girls birthday cake as she was going to blow out her candles. There were intestines and other unidentifiable pieces of meat everywhere. Naruto was laughing so hard at the reaction of the kids, who were now covered in blood and other things. It was total chaos. As much as Naruto would have loved to stick around, he had to leave. This wasn't the undesirable area; there would be a full investigation. So Naruto left heading strait towards the woods laughing all the way.

It had been three weeks sense the bombing, and Naruto knew nothing about the investigation. He was just doing his regular routine of training at the moment going over his forms for about the ten-thousandth time.

"Yo, Naruto." Kakashi said with an eye smile suddenly right next to him.

"Ahhhh, don't sneak up on me like that!" Naruto yelled as he jumped at the sudden appearance of Kakashi.

"Sorry, I thought you were better than that." Said Kakashi in a lazy way, which Naruto just pouted at. "Well anyway, I need to ask you some questions, ok." Naruto nodded knowing that he was going to be confronted eventually. He just hoped that a half truth would be enough. "When was the last time you were in town?"

Naruto just sighed, "About three weeks." He said in a defeated tone, clearly sounding guilty.

Kakashi was torn, 'I was afraid of this, I just hope I can somehow find a way to save him.' "Alright, you know why I'm here, so just tell me how you did it and why. Start from the beginning."

"Ok, I was out here doing my regular thing, but something was off. It took me a while to figure out what was wrong, but eventually I figured it out." Naruto took a deep breath, then looking at Kakashi who just gave him a nod telling him to continue. "I needed to kill someone. So, I went back to my old neighborhood and let my self get jumped. I killed the junkie with my tomahawk." Said Naruto pulling it out of its holster in his cloak. "I won't lie, I liked it." Looking up at Kakashi he was surprised to see that the man looked relieved. Kakashi had been expecting this, he was just glad he caught it before Naruto got out of hand.

"Ok, I understand."

This statement totally threw Naruto off, it didn't make sense, 'there's something he's not telling me.' Naruto thought while he was narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"I will let this go this one time Naruto," he held one finger up to illustrate his point. "But it can never happen again. I won't protect you if it does. If you need to kill something, come to either me or the Hokage and we'll figure something out. Ok?"

Naruto nodded as he hung his head. He wasn't sure why, but he still felt bad that he let Kakashi down. Subconsciously he knew there was something wrong with him. There always had been, these urges weren't new. His whole life he had tried to figure out what made him different from the other kids. And it wasn't that people hated him either, he just didn't get the other kids, and they avoided him. People could sense that there was something off with him.

Kakashi looked at Naruto's expression and he knew exactly what he was feeling, but he couldn't do anything about it. At least not yet, that was a conversation for another day.

"Hey, I do have some good news for you though; I got you into the ninja academy." Kakashi had another eye smile as Naruto looked up in shock. He never really believed that he would become a real ninja, maybe learn there moves, but he never thought that he would actually be accepted as one.

"You did?!" Naruto shouted smiling an actual smile absent from any sadistic intent.

"I sure did, but it doesn't start for another five months." Naruto almost had tears of joy in his eyes anyway. "Come on; ill treat you to the best ramen in the village." Kakashi did another eye smile as Naruto's face lit up again, too happy to be suspicious right now.

------

Okay, on the next episode of **RENEGADE BALL Z! **Naruto starts at the academy. Will he make friends? Or will he mess it up for himself? Stay tuned.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Alright, here is the next chapter. But first I wanted to say something about Naruto's personality to any who will bother to read this. I really like that people like Naruto's sadistic nature. In my take of him, this will never go away. However, I don't want people to confuse him with just being a sociopath. True, he does have some of their qualities, but he is not. For the most part, he is just emotionally fucked up right now. That was one of the things I wanted to put into my story, because rest assured, there are people like this in the world. And what I mean by that, is people that can feel everything that normal people can, but still enjoy killing and have that bloodlust. As contradicting as that may sound, these people do exist. That is one of the things I wanted to get across about Naruto; in my vision of him, he not only starts to change into a better person, but also realizes how different he is from everyone else, even if he wants to be 'normal' he cant, its just who and what he is. Its one of the main plots in the story, its how Naruto comes to realize that even if he never had the Kyubi sealed in him, he would always have turned out the way he is, its about how he comes to terms with this, and how he comes to accept it. Anyway, just thought you should know, that is if you care. Lol**_

**Chapter 6**

It had been almost four months since Kakashi had confronted him. And he had to say that things had only gone up from there. Though Naruto was annoyed that Kakashi had neglected to mention that he had to have an interview with the Hokage himself before he accepted. This was an even bigger shock as Kakashi took him to see the Hokage right after they were done eating. This made Naruto very, very upset. Kakashi hadn't lied to Naruto when he said that it was the best ramen in the village. In fact, after one bite, Naruto declared that it was the best meal that he had ever had and stated that a statue should be built to honor the two nice people that made it. He also stated that the recipe should be added to the Hokage's library under armed guard. At this every body laughed as Naruto was somehow able to get that entire speech out in one breath. Because of this, the father and daughter had immediately taken a liking to Naruto. Naruto didn't get their names yet though, he was a social retard and didn't realize that it was polite to introduce yourself.

After Kakashi broke the news to Naruto where they were headed next, Naruto almost did a spit take with some of his now 'sacred' ramen. Naruto had yelled at Kakashi the whole way there as he had somehow forgot to mention that they were going to a meeting that would affect the rest of Naruto's life. Naruto was even angrier when he realized that Kakashi was reading his book and hadn't paid attention to anything Naruto had yelled at him for the last ten minutes.

**Flashback:**

"Are you sure you want this Naruto," said Sarutobi in a serious voice. Even though he already knew the answer. "The life of a ninja is not easy. And the life expectancy isn't that great either. I'm probability the oldest Kage in history, and that's only because I was forced out of retirement. If you are serious about this and devote your self to it, chances are that you'll be dead by the time your thirty-five, no matter how powerful you become. The Yondaime is proof of that." As hard as it was to say, it needed to be said. It was true, Naruto's father had become far more powerful than he had been at his prime, and he was once hailed as a god among shinobi.

Naruto looked at the Hokage's face, and then to Kakashi's as these words sunk in. it was true, he had never thought that he would die young. 'But really, does it actually matter? I know this is what I was meant to do, I'm almost positive that ill be happy doing this. And it's not like I have anything else to live for either.' Thought Naruto as he looked at the same serious/solemn expression on both of their faces. 'I want this, but still. I need to choose my words carefully, or rather, just tell them the truth. That's always worked out with them anyway.'

"I understand what you're saying, I really do," Naruto said in an honest tone. "but I can feel it inside me that this is what I was born for. I can't see myself doing anything else for the rest of my life. I know it may sound bad for my part, but I want to kill people. I don't know how to describe it. It's something that's been with me my whole life. I'm not saying that ill go all psycho or anything on a mission. I know the difference between right and wrong, even if I don't care about it sometimes. But I do respect authority. And I will always follow orders." Naruto finished with an almost defiant look on his face. As if he was daring either of them to challenge the sincerity in his words.

There was a moment of silence as both the Hokage and Kakashi studied him.

Kakashi started first. "I believe you Naruto, and that's why I've vouched for you and recommended you to the Hokage. I really do think that you will be an excellent ninja. Just don't screw this up; I've got my name riding on you." Kakashi warned

Naruto's eyes widened at this. 'He's putting his reputation on the line for me?' "I wont let you down Kakashi-san." Kakashi just nodded at this.

Now it was the Hokage's turn to talk. "Ok, well if that's settled, we need to move on to your living situation." Naruto had a confused look on his face now. "even if your only in the academy, your still considered an investment to the village's future. So, I cant have you living in an area so close to the Forest of Death."

Naruto had a thoughtful expression on his face now, 'that makes sence, and I always knew that that forest was weird. I mean, how often do you see snakes the size of houses? But still, where are they going to put me?'

"We have small apartments for exactly this purpose," the Hokage continued as soon as he saw that he had Naruto's attention. "Its in a residential district in the northern part of the village, I think you will like it. Actually I think you will have a good view of the Hokage monument." Naruto perked up at this, it sounded like a pretty decent place. "you have five months until you start, I trust that you will keep out of trouble." He looked at Naruto with a knowing expression.

Naruto gulped and quickly nodded, 'how the hell does he know? I just told Kakashi about it.'

**Present time:**

Naruto had kept his word and stayed out of trouble. But that didn't stop him from training and earning money the way that he did before, the only difference for the moment was that he had a different place to sleep if wanted to. He also started to read up on shinobi tactics, or at least what he could understand. He found the perfect books for this; it was a series of books that were apparently 'For Dummies'. But he didn't mind, he figured that everyone had to start somewhere. He figured that he had better try and catch up, because it seemed as if not everybody could just get into the academy and he was probably really behind on everything. What he didn't know was that for the most part, he was actually ahead. Even a civilian could just go to the academy and enroll their kid when they became of age. Little did Naruto know, that he was going to get a lot more prepared and fast.

It stated with another visit with the monster. "Oh shit." Naruto thought out loud. He was back in the sewer place that the demon lived. 'Might as well get this over with.' He thought with a sigh. So he started heading towards where he knew it was caged.

"**Hello boy," **the monster said in its sinister drawn out voice. **"I know you're not exactly pleased to see me, rest assured that the feeling is mutual. But sense you are finally going to start at the mortal ninja academy, its time you got some real equipment. And I what I mean by that is weapons that aren't made out of animal bones." **Naruto flushed a little at this. He knew that by ninja standards his weapons were little more than toys. **"I am going to more or less give you a list of items to acquire. I don't expect you to get all of them right now. Actually you won't need a lot of it for a little while. But start collecting it. When you wake up you will have the list in your head for a little while. Write them down immediately, you are too much of an idiot to remember all of it." **

Now Naruto was just pissed. 'What does this thing want from me?' Naruto was just about to voice his thoughts when found himself in his new and comfortable bed. Though he did have cold sweat all over him. Just like the monster said, there was a list in his head, so he went and wrote them down. Looking over a fairly long list, he had never even heard of some of the things on it. He wasn't sure he could even pronounce some of it. 'Oh well, I might as well go ask someone about it, but who?' Naruto went through the options he had, he could go to Kakashi, but he hadn't seen him since he led Naruto to his new apartment and he wasn't sure on whether he was even in the village right now. He could go to the Hokage, but he doubted that the old man would see him over such a trivial matter. After all, it wasn't as if he was going to be using any of it any time soon.

After racking his head for a while, he finally decided that he should ask the man that owned the weapons shop in the rich district. The guy was always helpful, he knew what he was doing, and he wouldn't just blow Naruto off. So, Naruto got himself ready, and left to the rich section of town.

"Hello Tenchi," Naruto said in an almost happy tone.

**(In case you haven't guessed, this is supposed to be Tenten's dad. I have no idea what his name is so I'm just using this for now. If you know, let me know and ill fix it.)**

"Oh, hey Naruto, what can I do for you today?"

"You can help me out with this list. I don't need all of it right now, I just need the basics of it. I'm starting the academy in a month." Naruto stated proudly.

"Alright, let me take a look." Tenchi's eye brows rose as he eyed the list. "Um, Naruto, where did you get this list? There are some very advanced and specific items on it."

"Well actually, I can't tell you. I'm sorry, but I don't think you would believe me even if I did tell you."

He just shrugged his shoulders at this. "Well it's none of my business anyway, but im sorry I can't help you Naruto. There are some very hard to come by and expensive things on here," he said tapping the list. "In fact, I would probably have to make most of it myself. And just the basics wouldn't cut it either, you're just not good for the money. The simple stuff on here consists of about a quarter of the list. Even if I we made a payment plan, it would take you a year or so to pay me off, I'm sorry, but it's just not worth it." He stopped as he saw Naruto's face fall, 'oh dam it, I want to help the kid out. But I can't justify this, im not sure how much money I'd loose on this.' As he was thinking of this, another idea came to him. He started smiling which made Naruto nervous.

"You know what kid; I think I can work something out, at least for now." Naruto's face lit up again, but then came the inevitable suspicion.

"What's the catch?"

"The catch is," Tenchi was still smiling as he was proud he had found a way around this little mess. "You would have to come and work for me, you would have to help me out with everything around here as well as help me make some of this stuff." He said tapping the list again. "In addition to all of this, you would have to follow a payment plan. You wouldn't be paid as all of that would go into this little project, but I still expect you to come up with the money on your own." He was now crossing his arms, as if saying, 'that's the deal, take it or leave it.'

It only took Naruto a couple of seconds to make up his mind. "Done!" Naruto said while sticking out his hand and shook the older mans gauntlet of a hand. 'How hard can it be?' was what Naruto was thinking as he was smiling an honest smile. But he was in for a huge shock.

Naruto was only a little worried when Tenchi said that he had to be at his shop at four in the morning, it was tough, but Naruto could do it. When he got there, the man was already awake and walked out of the city into a forgery by the edges of the where the forest started. Then came the actual work, it was some of the most grueling physical labor he had ever done, made worse still as by now he had all but forgotten that he wore weights everyday. The only times he took them off was to wash them, and when he showered. The first two hours consisted of prepping for the day. This in turn meant that he had to shovel a lot of coal and chop a lot of wood, or just carry it. There were also large pieces of equipment that had to be laid out the right way and prepped for use. Of course Tenchi over saw the whole thing and told Naruto what to do every step of the way.

Besides the fact that Naruto was obviously mortified when he found out that the last two hours had just been prep time, and that now the real work started, he never once complained. As far as he was concerned, this was just strength conditioning. Tenchi then spent the rest of the day teaching Naruto how to handle molten metal, and what, and what not to do. In addition he also introduced Naruto to some of the slightly more advanced things that had to be done with making weapons so that he could help out during the actual process. At the end of the day, Naruto had succeeded in making five of his own very real, and very sharp kunai. He also had a new understanding on why it was going to cost him so much to buy the things he needed. From what he could tell, it would take several days to make even the simple stuff. He couldn't even imagine how the rest of it was made. Thankfully though, Tenchi knew how sore Naruto was going to be, so he gave him the next day off with a warning to make sure that he moved around and stretched. He also told him to eat a lot of meat if he could.

It had been three weeks since Naruto had stated working for Tenchi, and he was just getting to the point where he was only a little sore when he woke up. Naruto had gotten a lot stronger too, but ten hours of work as a smith will do that. After they got the basics down, they started to immediately work on his stuff. They didn't have that long to finish the stuff and Naruto was going to be there a long time. Even though some of the equipment was done, Tenchi still wouldn't let Naruto take it until he had given him his first payment. The only way Naruto was going to do that was with the weekends he got off. He had to come up with fifty thousand yen a month. (I think that's like five hundred dollars.) He also was going to have to work for him for at least six months. Right now, he was almost working full time for him, but when the academy started, Naruto would only have to be there to prep things. But Naruto was fine with this; he knew he was getting a good deal with the stuff he was getting.

Other than that, they made good progress. Almost all of his stuff was completed and he had just gotten the money to make his first payment.

"Alright, here's the first payment, as promised." Said Naruto obviously excited while he was handing Tenchi the money.

"Alright, I trust you that it's all here. I've got all of your things in a case in the back of the store; ask Tenten, she will know where it is."

Tenten often handled the store when her father was at the forge. This was happening a lot recently. He said that he had to help out a boy named Naruto. At first she was ok with it, but then she met him. She was a little afraid of him to be honest. His eyes and teeth were creepy, especially since he seemed ok with them. But that wasn't all; he just seemed to give off this almost sinister aura. It was like he was just waiting for an excuse to tear some one apart. But, he hadn't done anything to give any bad impressions. Though he hadn't been overly rude, he wasn't all that polite either. She sighed, it was just going to have to be something she would have to get over and deal with. The bell rung indicating that the door opened and there was a customer. "Hello, how can I…., oh hi Naruto." 'Speak of the devil' she thought to herself as Naruto walked up to the counter.

"Hey Tenten, I just need to pick up my things. I paid your dad, so he said to talk to you."

Tenten just nodded at this and went into the back of the store. 'Whatever else he might be, he isn't a lair.' She thought to herself. She wasn't sure why exactly, but she was sure of this. She came out a few minutes later with a big hard covered weapons case. These were commonly used for transport, and the storing of weapons.

"So do you want to go over the merchandise?" asked Tenten praying that he didn't want to, but understanding if he did. There was a lot stuff in there and a lot of money put into it.

"No, that's ok. I know you guys aren't going anywhere. Ill just look through it when I get home."

Tenten just nodded, though she was sighing in relief on the inside. It would have been a pain in the ass if he had wanted to break all of it out right now.

"Alright, see you later Tenten." Said Naruto as he walked out of the store with his weapons case. Tenten just waved at his back.

Naruto was very exited. Sure had helped make most of the things in here, but they were just out of the forge the last time he saw them. It was Tenten's job to clean them up and finish whatever else needed doing to them. He was so excited that he didn't even notice the odd stares that people were giving him. As it wasn't everyday one saw a child running through town with a weapons case half the size he was.

Naruto was panting heavily, and in his room with the case unopened on his bed. All of the windows were closed, and all of doors were locked, it was the moment of truth. He slowly opened up the case and wasn't disappointed in the least at what he saw. Before they had started to make his things, they had to go over his personal preferences on them. After all, what was the point in putting all of this money and time into this if he wasn't going to make them his?

His things were strapped to both sides of the case, making sure that everything had been securely fastened down. He decided that he would start with the basic things and move his way up. So the first things that he pulled out were two leg pouches filled with kunai and shiruken. He placed these on the far side of the bed. Next, he pulled out his first practice sword. It wasn't very long, and it had a straight blade. It wasn't curved like the longer katana. Actually it wasn't actually made out of metal; it was made out of a very durable wood. But all the same it was still dangerous as it did have a sharp enough edge to cut. The sheath was designed to be tied to his lower back so it was more or less horizontal with his waist. But the end were the sword was drawn from, which was on his right side, was pointed at a slightly downward angle. He wouldn't need it for a little while anyway. He had been informed that he wasn't allowed to bring any actual weapons to the academy with him. Any and all supplies were provided for at the school. So really he was just going to practice with this for a while.

'Actually, I need to figure out how to practice with it. I've never held a sword in my life.' Thought Naruto, 'maybe I can get Kakashi to help him with that.'

Next he moved on to the things that he would have for a long time. These were the most expensive items that he had, he also had seen the least of there construction as he would have only gotten in the way. They were his new clothes. They were not complete though, as he had had it described to him, they had the ability to have many accessories added to them. So more or less, he could later add armor into the actual clothes themselves. The first step to putting them on was taking his old clothes off, and putting on the new rash guard underwear that he had to be worn for obvious reasons. These just consisted of a tight mesh tank top shirt, and a pair of breathable boxer briefs. Then, he put on his new pants. At first glance, they didn't look that different from any other ninja combat pants, but if you studied them, there were differences. For one, they were shorter than other combat pants, they only went a little below the knees, the straps that tied off the top of the shin weren't the only straps on them; they were actually several of them up and down each leg as well as some on the hips. However, for the most part, they were all inside the actual clothing so most couldn't be seen unless you were looking closely. Then there were the many pockets on them, and not all of them were for carry on things and weapons. There were actually pockets were he could slip in special plates of armor that adapted to the pants. These pockets were all over the place on all of the clothes, but he didn't have any of the extra armor to put in them. This wasn't that great of a concern for him as he wasn't really going to need armor for years. Over all, after looking down at them, they looked like just slightly modified forest green camouflaged combat pants. But Naruto knew better, they were actually made out of special material that reacted to his chakra, but again he wouldn't be able to use the features that came with them until he learned to actually use his chakra. They did look a little tight, but they would mostly be covered up anyway, and it's not like he cared what other people thought of his appearance.

The next article of clothing was a heavy long sleeved black turtle-necked t-shirt. At least that's what it looked like at first. The same as with the pants, it also was adjustable to his size, though it didn't have any pockets in it, it did have the slots where the plates could go.

And last but not least, came the over coat. It was more or less a closed trench coat, but it had the straps so that it could be drawn tightly over the body if it was needed. Much like the shirt, it was jet black; accept for a very deep crimson streak down the back.

As for the coat itself, it had the most potential in regards to customization. So far, it was the only real piece of armor that he wore, as it was actually part of the clothing. What I mean by this is that instead of him being able to add in plates of armor like the rest of his wardrobe, it was already built in to this. Because the coat looked like leather, although it wasn't, it was hard to tell that instead of the armor being fitted and designed around the cloth, it was the other way around. The armored plates were there to begin with, as in, an armadillo on his back, shoulder pads, although they weren't super pronounced like other pieces, and then the arm guards, a breast plate, and a piece that would cover his abdomen; adding to that, it was all very flexible. All of it was already a complete and linked set. More or less, Tenchi had assembled and attached the armor together first, and then designed the rest of it building off of that. It was also created with that same material and other 'features' that Tenchi hadn't bothered to explain, as Naruto was a kid, and an idiot.

The only item that was left in the case was Naruto's greaves. These covered the rest of his legs. They also had adjustable straps, though Naruto knew that these he would have to replace in a year or so. They let Naruto wear his chakra weights, they just tightened them up. Covering his entire shin and ankle, and calves. His feet were not entirely exposed though. Connected to the greaves was a kind of shoe. All they really were was a sock attached to standard ninja sandals. So the grieves were put on like you would put a sock on.

All in all, Naruto made a very imposing figure as he looked at him self in the mirror. He tried smiling his nightmare of a grin to add to the effect, he could say that without any ego that he looked terrifying. 'but, I think the coat is a little overkill, at least for now,' Naruto was thinking as he was taking in his appearance and wondering what he was going to do about it. 'Well, I don't have to wear it right now, its not like I'm going to out grow it any time soon. I don't need the armor for years anyway.' With this in mind, Naruto took off his new coat and strapped on his old cloak. He didn't look as intimidating as before, but he really didn't care, he could always put the other one on if he needed it.

There was also something else wrong with his appearance, it took a moment and then it came to him. It was his hair; it was longer and very sloppy looking. He had always cut his hair very short before so that no one could grab on to it. But as he looked at himself he realized that he didn't look that bad with slightly longer hair, even if it was sticking all over the place. It was just a little sloppy right now; he needed to get it cleaned up. But there was a problem with that, he didn't know of any place that he could trust to cut his hair without 'accidentally' slitting his throat, again. And he couldn't do it himself because he would just screw it up.

"Who can I trust to cut my hair?" Naruto wondered out loud.

"You can trust me." Said Kakashi who seemingly appeared right next to Naruto with a pair of scissors in his hand and an eye smile.

"AHHHH" Naruto screamed jumping at least three feet in the air. "What the fuck is your problem!"

"What, I thought you wanted help with cutting your hair." Said Kakashi with a feigned innocent tone and face as if he wasn't aware of what he just did.

"That's not the point!" yelled Naruto as his eye brow was now twitching. Naruto glared one more time at the Cyclops and then just gave in with a sigh. "Alright, can you please cut my hair," Naruto thought about it, and then quickly added in. "without trying to humiliate me?"

Kakashi just stood there for a moment as if he was considering it, or he was actually going to try and humiliate Naruto. "Sure, why not? Just take off your smelly cloak and your fancy new shirt and let's go in the bathroom."

"My cloak is not smelly!" yelled Naruto clearly offended.

"Whatever you say Naruto."

"Well, I guess that it's not that bad of a hair cut." Naruto said as he was examining himself in the mirror.

"Why thank you Naruto. And your welcome by the way." Said Kakashi as he was examining Naruto's gear that he had left on the bed. Kakashi's eye caught on the practice sword. He was about to grab it but stopped mid way, he looked over at Naruto and asked, "May I?"

Naruto nodded and Kakashi picked it up to examine it. After he was done looking at it he sheathed it and placed it back on the bed. "Well, it's a good toy. But why did you buy this?" Naruto flushed at this.

"Well, I have no idea how to use a sword in the first place. I felt that it would be stupid of me to buy a real one. But this actually wasn't the one on the list that I got. Apparently the one on the list is worth five times what I owe Tenchi already."

"Um Naruto, what list?" Kakashi asked in a worried voice. Naruto went on to explain how he got it and what the deal he made was. "I see, well, we can't have you practicing with a toy now can we?" he said with another eye smile.

"That's just it though; I don't even know how to practice with it. I don't even know the real way to practice with knives." Naruto said in a tone indicating that he had put a lot of thought into this.

"Hm?" Kakashi was thinking. 'I now have the time to at least show him how to do the basics and help get him started, but how do I convince him? Ill just use the Kyubi as an excuse.' "Well, if the demon wants you to use that kind of blade, then ill just have to start to teach you the basics." Kakashi said with another eye smile.

"Um, thank you?" Naruto offered. While he was very much relieved, this was a problem that he had been thinking over a lot. But at the same time, he couldn't figure out whether or not to be suspicious of Kakashi. 'Oh fuck it; the guy is so weird anyway, I might as well go with it. He's probably retarded in some way.' "Just wondering though, how is it that you have more time now?"

Thankfully Kakashi didn't have to lie to him this time. "Oh, I retired from ANBU. So now im just an elite jonin."

"Why did you retire?" asked Naruto who was very much interested in why someone would want to get out of the black ops unit. They were the best of the best. They got to fight the wars that no one heard about. Actually, that's exactly where he wanted to end up one day.

"Well, I just kind of got tired of it. You wouldn't understand, at least not yet. But it gets to you after a while. I just couldn't do it anymore." Kakashi said in a sad tone. It was true, he was tired. His last mission had been a couple of weeks ago and it had gone bad. There was faulty Intel on the target, and they were ambushed. Its hard enough assassinating sometimes innocent people, but when you lose your teammates, it's so much worse. Two of his squad was now dead in a forest in unmarked graves, and his last member lost both of his legs, his carrier was over. If you stayed in it for to long, you either went crazy, or you just became an empty shell. Even with the mandatory vacation time after ten missions. There was also only so long a person was aloud to stay in ANBU, and he was nearing the end anyway. If he did want to go back, he would have to wait five years.

He was right though, Naruto didn't understand. But Naruto knew that he had a lot to learn about that way of life so he wasn't going to question or worry about it. "so what now?" Naruto asked, wondering what the next step was. He was actually excited.

"Well, you should know that im not going to be able to instruct you every day, or even every week. I have more time now, but I still have missions to do." Naruto nodded expecting this. "So im just going to show you some basic forms to practice with for now just like the ones I gave you before. By the way, have you been practicing those the way I taught you?" Naruto nodded again, Kakashi had been very descriptive about if he didn't put all of his concentration to do every move perfectly, eventually it would be way off and would just hinder him. "All right, im not doing anything for the rest of today, and ill have a little time tomorrow also. So first things first, we need to get you a real sword."

They had just walked out of Tenchi's shop with a brand new sword. There was a big difference between normal swords, and ninja swords. And thus, they were a lot more expensive, which is also one of the reasons Naruto didn't get one in the first place. Naruto was so excited when they bought it that he didn't even think twice when Kakashi said that he could pay him back whenever he felt like it. Though it wasn't the blade that was on the list, it was still beautiful to him. The length was the same as the other one. From the end of the sheath, to the end of the hilt on the opposite side, it was about three and half feet long. When Naruto held it he was amazed at the craftsmanship, it was balanced perfectly with no weak spots on the blade. It would have taken almost twenty four hours to make it. The sheath was jet black, but every two inches or so there was a very deep crimson diagonal line. Because the color was so deep, it made it very hard to distinguish the colors, making it look distorted to anyone not used to seeing it.

It was almost dark now, and Naruto was absolutely exhausted. He had been working on just strait forms for the last couple of hours. Mean while, after Kakashi was done showing him how to do them, he just sat down and read. Of course this pissed Naruto off a lot. Naruto was curious though, he had never seen anybody move like the way he was learning to. Both the sword forms, and his old, and new forms that Kakashi had shown him, were different from any fighting style he had ever seen. When he had asked Kakashi about this, he said that it was an art that was rare and not many people knew it. Though Kakashi had lied, no one but the Fourth knew that style as he had created it. It was designed to go along with his yellow flash technique, it was totally original. The style revolved mostly around agility and speed. Strength was defiantly required, but it wasn't critical as in it you hit with speed that it wouldn't matter, especially because the style put you in positions that allowed you to hit critical spots. Naruto however, was freakishly strong for his age even though he was small.

As for the sword training, Kakashi had told Naruto that it was going to take a long time to get far at all with it. In fact, he wasn't even planning on showing him any other forms than the basic ones for the weapon. The Fourth hadn't carried a sword. So it was up to Naruto to later on adapt it into his style when he got better at it.

"Hey Kakashi, can I ask you something." Naruto said after pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Sure what's on your mind?" He said in a neutral tone putting his book away as he did.

"I was just wondering exactly why you have to do these forms over and over, I mean, is this the right way to train?"

Kakashi knew what he was really asking. He was asking if he was just getting a half assed lesson when he should be under instruction all of the time. Kakashi gave an eye smile, "yes Naruto, everyone has to do their forms hundreds or rather thousands of times. Obviously you wont end up using your forms in an actual fight, but what it does do is build muscle memory," Kakashi stood up and adopted the teaching pose. Too which Naruto just sweat dropped at. "What doing the forms over and over again does for you, is it teaches you the moves so that you can improvise any combination when you're fighting. You see, when someone punches at you, you automatically want to react. And because you've done the forms so many times, you have trained your body to react the right way on instinct. At first it will probably feel like you don't have any control over your body, and that your body has a mind of its own. Of course, you need a sparing partner to help with this. There is only so much you can do on your own, real skill comes with experience." Kakashi finished with a finger raised.

Naruto was suddenly full of energy again, "so can we spar right now?" Naruto said in an excited voice as Kakashi seemed to think on it for a second.

"No, im too tired right now, we'll spar tomorrow." Kakashi said with an eye smile while Naruto just face faulted. Just as Naruto was about to start yelling at Kakashi he remembered that he also had to work tomorrow. He could probably get off by noon, but still, it was going to be hell.

It was finally the day, and Naruto was nervous. He was standing right outside the academy, even though he was at least an hour and a half early. But still, there were people dropping their kids off. Naruto was about to follow the other kids his age and go inside, when he caught sight of something that pissed him off. There was a boy his age with red markings on his cheeks, eyes with slitted pupils like his, and even elongated fangs. The kid was yelling at his mother to let go of his hand. He was disrespecting her in front of all of these people.

'who the fuck does this kid think he is? Doesn't he know how lucky he is that his mom cares enough to walk with him?' these and other thoughts went through Naruto's head. He decided that he didn't need any trouble, at least not yet, so he followed the kids that did go inside to his classroom.

When he walked in, it was practically deserted. No matter how hard Naruto tried, he couldn't get the spoiled brat out of his head. He picked a seat in the back and glared at the door. He decided that a good way to kill time was to try and make the door burst into flames by glaring at it. Naruto just ended up zoning out and staring into space for an hour. But he was woken out of it by the sound of screaming banshees. They were two girls that had just entered the room, a blond one, and a pink haired one. Actually, he had somehow missed most of the class getting settled in and the teacher getting set up on his desk in the front of the room. To Naruto's horror the screaming girls seemed to be making a beeline strait for him, arguing over something called a sasukekun. Naruto had just decided to ignore them.

"No Ino pig, Sasuke is in love with me, so I should be the one to sit next to him.!"

"Stupid, how could Sasuke fall in love with a huge forhead like you!" they just kept going at it. They stopped right next to Naruto's desk and continued their screaming match. 'why don't they just fight and get it over with? That always a sure way to solve problems.' Was what Naruto was thinking while he was visibly twitching in anger. Finally he had had enough.

"SHUUT UUUP!" Naruto screamed at them getting the attention of everyone else in the room in the process. The two girls stopped for a second and blinked and looked at him seeing him for the first time.

"What are you doing in my seat?!" they both yelled in unison.

"What are their assigned seats or something?"

They both were just silent for a moment before the pink haired girl took the inisiative. "No, but Sasuke is in love with me, so obviously I should sit next to him." She said with the utmost conviction.

"what are you talking about," said Naruto as he turned to his left and for the first time noticed a black haired boy who was glaring forward, much like Naruto was doing earlier. "oh, well tough, I got here first, find somewhere else." Naruto said turning his attension to the teacher with a scar on his face as he seemed to be getting ready to start. Then the pink haired girl hit him right on the top of the head. Naruto didn't hesitate, he pulled back his right arm and decked her strait in the face, although he had the leverage to hit her with about a third of his strength, she was still knocked off her feet. There was dead silence in the room. Naruto looked around and everyone, with the exception of the Sasuke kid who seemed to be trying to hide his amusement, jaws had dropped.

"What? She had it coming." Said Naruto in a tone indicating that he had no remorse whatsoever. The girl was so shocked that it took her a full five seconds before she started crying. 'Oh great.' Thought Naruto as he adopted a bored expression and sighed.

Iruka groaned, it had been a very long day. After that little disturbance, for the most part the day went smoothly. Until the very end, apparently Kiba didn't like the fact that Naruto asked about hundred questions every hour. Naruto had responded by calling him a spoiled brat and throwing a book all the way across the class room that hit Kiba in the back of the head, much to the amusement of half the class. Iruka had been warned by the Hokage that Naruto was temperamental, and Sakura's black eye was proof of that. Iruka had just finished talking to Naruto after class and had explained to him that he was going to have to control himself. The only time that he was aloud to hit other students was out side when they were sparring. Naruto agreed to this very fast with a wicked smile. Iruka was scared, this was going to be a very long year.

**Alright, im sorry about the whole clothing thing. I re-wrote it like five times and it still sounded stupid to me. If you have ever played the video game ****Tenchu Z ****you know what his sword looks like and how it is carried. As for his trench coat, I had in mind a slightly modified version of what that guy wears in ****Assassins Creed.**** Well that's it for now, I will try and get another one out soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

_**Alright, there you go. Here's the next one. I don't really like the story too much right now. Mostly I'm just setting it up for latter. I have a tone of ideas for when Naruto finally is a genin, but not so much for right now. I think their will be a time skip in the next one, but I'm not sure. Review and let me know what you think. I can add another chapter to his age right now if you guys think that it would be the best thing, or I can just skip to the graduation. **_

**Chapter 7**

Iruka groaned. It had been a very long week, and it was probably going to be an even longer one next week. Every day Naruto found some magnificent way to get around the rules and shock the other kids. And everyday he had Naruto stay after class and lectured him on why he was not allowed to do those things. The first day it was why he was under no circumstances allowed to hit girls, at least until he was in a real fight outside the academy. Even though Naruto took all of this to heart and didn't do any of it again, he somehow managed to get around the rule and find another way to humiliate people. Iruka finally came to the conclusion that Naruto had no common sense and he was going to have to have a very long talk to him on Monday as he didn't have the energy to do it today. Though Iruka had a sneaking suspicion that Naruto knew what he was doing was wrong, but was doing it anyway just because he could. Today, he introduced advanced curse words to the other children.

"Alright, well if that's all, I will see all of you on Monday." Said Iruka with his particular eye smile.

'What the hell, is it mandatory that all ninja have to close their eyes when they smile?' Naruto thought to himself as he had never seen a ninja smile with their eyes open. 'Perhaps it has something to do with trust. It would explain it, I can't think of another reason why you would intentionally close your eyes in front of someone who could kill you, unless ninjas can somehow see through their eye lids.'

"Um, Iruka sensei?" asked Naruto while he was raising his hand.

"yes Naruto?" answered Iruka feeling nervous along with the rest of the class as Naruto had a tendency to ask stupid, or awkward questions, both of which ended in confrontation by one or more students in the class.

"When do we get to start the practical training outside" asked Naruto in a tone indicating that he was eager, but trying to hide it.

"We'll start the outdoor training next week, ok?" answered Iruka in a relieved tone, though it was ruined when Sasuke shot a dirty look at Naruto and said.

"Well we might have been able to get some practical training in if 'someone' wasn't at the reading level of a six year old." Sasuke said in a venomous and sarcastic tone.

Though Sasuke was exaggerating a bit, it was true that Naruto was behind in just about everything that had to do with book studies. But Iruka had been briefed about why so he didn't make a big deal of it. For example, on the first day Naruto asked what the word written on the board, 'education' meant. At first everybody thought he was only being a smart ass, until he started asking questions about every single thing he didn't understand in the book. This in turn meant that Naruto asked a question about every five minuets, much to the annoyance of the class. On the second day of this, the talk after school with Naruto was about why he wasn't allowed to throw things across the classroom. One student had finally had enough; he stood up, and started to tell Naruto exactly how much of an idiot he was in front of the whole class. He had gotten through almost two sentences when a hard covered dictionary hit him in the face. This was also the first time blood had been intentionally drawn in his classroom.

(Back to the argument with Sasuke.)

"Go to hell asshole!" Naruto yelled at the boy sitting next to him. Sasuke, not to be outdone got up and retaliated.

"Idiot!"

"Bastard!" yelled Naruto who was now also standing up.

"DUMB ASS!"

"COCK SUCKING FAGGOT!" there was a sudden gasp followed by a couple of events, some of which may never again happen. For one, the genius Sasuke was speechless with his mouth open, Hinata was not the only girl to faint, his entire class room, including Shikamaru, was awake and completely silent. Naruto also had a pleased expression on his face. This didn't last long however as Ino got up all red in the face getting ready to scream. Naruto saw that Ino was about to try and defend her 'Sasuke-kun's' honor and intervened.

"OH YOU CAN SHUT THE FUCK UP TOO BITCH! IT'S FRIDAY AND I DON'T NEED ANY OF YOUR BULLSHIT RIGHT NOW! Besides, is there another explanation as to why he turns down half the female populations advances as you are pretty much offering to be his sex slaves?!" Hinata, who had just woken up, fainted again.

Seeing that Sasuke was just about to start yelling again, Iruka finally spoke up. "Enough!" putting some killing intent into it. "Class is dismissed, Naruto, can you wait for me outside as it seams we need to have yet another conversation."

"Sure thing Iruka-sensei." Naruto answered in an easy tone free of worry and started to head out side behind all of the other kids.

Iruka was rubbing his eyes with his palms. 'What am I going to do? I am spending a fortune taking him to that ramen stand for these little talks. I think he might just be doing this on purpose!' Iruka just sighed and headed outside. What he saw though was a little shocking. Apparently most of the parents who were ninja waited for Naruto to have a talk with him. Even if most of them sympathized with him, they weren't going to let him corrupt to minds of their children.

"Ok, what do you guys want?!" Naruto asked/yelled with a defiant expression towards the crowd of parents. With Naruto's expression, he might as well have a 'Fuck You' tattooed on his forehead. Before anybody could talk though, three older boys in ratty clothes stepped forward. Naruto apparently recognized them because he got into his unique fighting stance.

"Well, well. Look at the little shit, thinks he's hot shit now that he's at the academy and has new clothes." Said one of them who Naruto was staring at with a shocked expression. Naruto had a good reason too, he looked exactly like the kid that he had almost killed him when he was seven. 'Maybe he is his twin brother? I know that that kid is dead, but he doesn't know it was me apparently by the look in his eyes. It's worth a shot.' Naruto took his eyes off the kid and looked at the kid in the middle; he was the only one whose name he knew.

"Daisuke, why did you come here?" Naruto said while gesturing to the crowd and the sign that said ninja academy. Daisuke was a junkie, and a hustler.

"None of y-your business." Said Daisuke while he was scratching himself as the other boys slowly surrounded Naruto.

"Do you have a death wish?" Naruto asked Daisuke, and then he looked over at the kid who had to be the twin brother of the one he killed. "Do you wanna die? Your brother sure didn't." said Naruto in a sadistic tone with one of his nightmare smiles. The kid's eyes widened and then he got a look of pure hate on his face. Daisuke seeing what was going to happen tried to call out to him to get him to stop but it was too late, the boy was already charging Naruto.

It was happening exactly like Kakashi had said it would, it was like Naruto didn't have control of his body. The bigger kid came running at him with his fist raised, Naruto jumped slightly to his left and did a one handed hand stand with his left hand. While he was upside down he kicked the older boy in the face with his right shin which broke his nose and knocked him on his ass with his face covered in blood. Naruto used the momentum from the kick to get back up. By this time the other boy was almost on him. Naruto just ducked below his punch and spun around and elbowed him in the solar plexus. Naruto grabbed his head and kneed him in the face twice. As he let the kid drop to the ground unconscious he smoothly side stepped Daisuke's punch, grabbed his wrist with is right hand, and used his left to punch his forearm as hard as he could. Daisuke's bones practically exploded out of his skin. As he was screaming Naruto was tackled by the twin brother. Naruto was familiar with fighting on the ground though, so he used his smaller frame to his advantage. The kid had him in a half guard and was hitting Naruto in the face. Naruto took the beating and trapped the kid's arm with his the second he could. He used his arm as leverage and flipped the kid over. Naruto now had him in a mounted position and dropped an elbow on his face.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE HEARD YOU BROTHER SQUEAL!" Naruto yelled as he dropped another elbow, "WHEN I BROKE HIS FUCKING FACE!" Naruto grabbed his hair with his left hand, and hit him with his right. The kid was in trouble. Naruto had forgotten how strong he was, that punch had broken his cheek bone. But Naruto was having too much fun to care. As he pulled his arm back he was hit in the face with a bat by the second kid.

Hinata was torn, or rather worried. She didn't know who these kids were, but they wanted to hurt her Naruto-kun. Right after Naruto broke the Daisuke's kid's arm she looked up to her father, "Hiashi-san, why isn't anybody stopping the fight?"

Her father, not taking his eyes off the fight said, "This is not our fight, and Naruto seems to be able to handle himself. I also suspect that everybody else wants to learn as much as they can about him." Said Hiashi as he made a vague gesture towards everyone else who was just watching the fight in awe.

Hiashi was also impressed, and disturbed. 'I never knew that children were capable of such, brutality.' Thought Hiashi as he stole a glance at the other shinobi parents who had similar looks of shock on their faces as they heard Naruto scream at the kid he was beating. 'Someone needs to stop this now, he's killing him.'

Hinata was so focused watching Naruto beat the other kid that she didn't see the bigger boy with the bat till the last second. He hit Naruto strait in the face, launching him off the boy. Blood spurted out of his mouth too. As Naruto looked up with a dazed look on his face he caught her eye. To her amazement, he just gave an honest smile with a wink and turned around to face to older kids again.

"ENOUGH!" Iruka yelled with killing intent. Naruto wasn't happy about it, but he backed down. "Naruto go and sit over there until I get to you, I need to treat them first." Said Iruka as he carried a field kit over to the moaning kids. The parents were shaking their heads and were almost going to leave, but they were in for one more shock.

"I told you he wasn't human! Why doesn't anyone believe me?!" Daisuke yelled with a panicky look in his eyes. Naruto could tell where this was going.

"Daisuke, no one believes you because you're a crack head, crack heads make all kinds of crazy shit up!" Naruto said after rolling his eyes. Daisuke, fear forgotten just glared at Naruto.

"Your mother was a whore." He spat out at Naruto with venom in his voice.

Naruto just shrugged, "What's your point?" he said as he spat out some blood and a sharp tooth.

Hinata fainted at this statement. Hiashi just shook his head as he picked his daughter up and went home. The other parents did similar things with their children and left the scene.

Iruka sighed, it was over. After all of the parents had left, he had some medic nins escort the kids to the hospital. He looked over at Naruto who was waiting to see what was going to happen to him. "Oh screw it." Iruka said rubbing his eye's, "come on, were going to have a talk over ramen." Naruto got up with a pleased look on his face.

As they were walking to the ramen shop Iruka started the conversation with Naruto early. "So Naruto, why do you think that your mom was, well, you know." Iruka said in a nervous voice. Naruto just shrugged.

"Anyone dropped in an orphanage right after their born is just the son of a whore who couldn't afford an abortion." Naruto said with a disturbingly uncaring voice, as if he was bored. "Well, maybe it's not like that in the other areas of the village, but that's what it's like where I grew up."

"I see." Said Iruka in a sad tone. While Iruka didn't know who Naruto's parents were, he did know for sure that his mother was not a hooker. 'It's too bad he thinks that. I wonder if he will ever find out the truth?'

Naruto was now devouring his sacred ramen at the Ichiraku stand. "Alright, we need to talk about today Naruto; I think we need to set a couple things strait." Naruto nodded as he finished his fourth bowl.

"Its ok Iruka sensei, they started it. That one boy threw the first punch." Naruto said in a content voice.

"I know he did Naruto, but you provoked him. The fact is that you can't do things like that anymore. I know you're new to these things, so I have been patient. And I can tell that you are trying. But ninjas do not do things because they can get away with them." Naruto was now paying attention with a confused look. "Ninjas are expected to act with integrity and honor." Seeing the question that Naruto was about to ask, he answered it. "Integrity has a couple of definitions. An example of one would be doing something nice for someone, even though no one would ever know that you did it. As for honor, well I'm sure that you've heard what that is. But you're going to have to figure out your own definition for it, everybody has their own version of it. As long as it doesn't conflict with the laws, no one will try and stop you. but just so you know, if you keep putting yourself in situations that allows you to kill or hurt someone just because you want to, or if you take advantage of situations, you wont be allowed to become a ninja." They both sat there for a little while. Naruto with thoughtful expression on his face.

"Does that mean that I should have tried to get out of that fight?" he asked

"Yes, but I understand why you did it. But I want you to try and act better, that includes cursing like that in class." Iruka added with a bit of annoyance.

"Does this mean that I have to be friends with Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked in an equally annoyed voice. Iruka just laughed.

"No, you don't have to be friends with him, you just have to tone down the arguments, at least while you are in school." Naruto sighed in relief. "By the way, I know you have a hard time reading, but I was told you read a lot of survival manuals and stuff." Naruto held up a finger asking him to wait a minuet as he was eating yet another bowl of ramen.

"Well, I really was only able to read and understand about half of it, the rest I figured out from the pictures." Naruto said without any form of embarrassment. Iruka just nodded.

"Hey Naruto," Iruka asked hesitantly, "Ya," Naruto said with a mouthful of ramen.

"Did you really kill that kid's brother?" Iruka asked afraid of the answer. Naruto just finished his mouthful, glanced up at Iruka, and kept his eyes locked with his long enough to say, "Yes." He said it without any hint of remorse, and then went back to eating his ramen. Iruka just sighed.

The next week went by smoother than the others. Mainly because Naruto was no longer sitting next to Sasuke.

**Flashback: **

Naruto walked into the classroom with a tired expression. He was just coming from home after a shower. Naruto had worked out a deal with Tenchi; it was basically that now that he was in the academy, he only had to prep his work station and help out as long as he could until he had to leave to make it to the academy on time. Although it lowered the working hours that Naruto did, it was still exhausting work. This wasn't lost on Sasuke though, he was going to piss off and annoy Naruto until he couldn't stand it. Naruto saw the look that Sasuke was giving him, and he was too tired to put up with him. Naruto got an idea that would be a win win situation for him. Before he went up the rows to his normal seat, he looked around for another seat. Finally he spotted one next too that weird paled eyed girl that had health problems. Naruto turned back and smiled and waved at Sasuke. Sasuke, along with the rest of the class, was confused until Naruto sat down in his new seat. It took five full seconds before Sasuke's expression turned to one of horror, and then to a pleading look in Naruto's direction. It took an additional five seconds for Sakura and Ino to realize that Naruto had abandoned his post next to Sasuke. Thus a battle royal ensued between Sasuke's entire fan club. While Naruto was introducing himself to Hinata, she stuttered out her name, and then passed out when Naruto tried to check to see if she had a fever.

**Present:**

It was time for the outdoor stuff. The first thing Iruka did was distribute blunted kunai and shiruken to everyone and had everyone line up in front of their targets. During the time that all of the children were trying to hit bulls eyes, only the Uchiha succeeded a couple of times. As expected, the first generation ninjas from civilian families did horribly. Naruto didn't do all that much better. Naruto was used to throwing his crude and made tools, and he didn't practice that often. Iruka could tell that he was pissed because of the way Sasuke was smirking as he at least hit the target log every time. And the squeals from his fan clubs didn't help much either.

Next up were the races, and the obstacle course. Naruto was, to Iruka's surprise, the best one. He was very fast, and very agile. Only Sasuke and Kiba could keep up with him, but neither of them had the stamina too keep it up. A fact that Naruto rubbed in Sasuke's face. After this it was lunch break, as most of the class was worn out by now and needed a break.

For most of Kiba's life, he had been the fastest, or at least the most agile. Then that little twerp Naruto beat him, not to mention that the Uchiha kid was better than him too. 'Well, I sort of anticipated that Sasuke was going to be a little better than me, but Naruto?!' Kiba was fuming when he got his lunch. To add insult to injury, he saw Naruto talking to Hinata. Kiba was very protective of Hinata as he considered her his girl, at least for as long as he thought Naruto might like her. But really Naruto just wanted to ask about her 'condition' that made her pass out all of the time. When Kiba saw them together, and Hinata blushing and touching her fingers together, he thought that Naruto was making a move on her.

"Hello Hinata," Naruto said in a friendly manner. Hinata was a little afraid of Naruto, as she had seen him fight a couple of times, but she remembered when he saved her from those other kids, and couldn't help but develop a crush.

"H-hello N-Naruto –kun" Hinata stuttered back.

"I just wanted to ask you how you were going to be able to become a ninja, that with your medical condition." He said with a curios look on his face. Hinata was confused though; she had no idea what he was talking about.

"I-I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?" Hinata asked with an equally confused look on her face. Naruto just gave an honest smile.

"You know, about how you have fevers and fainting spells all of the time. Or at least you do whenever I see you." he finished with a thoughtful look on his face. Hinata was horrified though. 'Oh no, he is going to figure out my secret!' she was thinking. But luckily for her, her horrified face was the last straw for Kiba. This in turn saved Hinata from discovering how much of an idiot Naruto was when it came to these things as he was going to suggest something along the lines of changing her diet.

Naruto's look changed though when he realized that Kiba was charging at him looking to tackle him. Naruto just side stepped though and tripped Kiba causing him to fall and skid on his face. As Naruto got ready to fight, he remembered what Iruka had talked to him about. "Sorry Hinata-chan, but I have to go before the douche bag over there gets back up." Naruto said with a smile while pointing a finger in Kiba's direction. Hinata just blushed at the curse word and nodded. 'He called me chan!' were her thoughts as he walked carefully away keeping an eye on Kiba to find a place to eat in peace.

The next part of the testing was the stealth and survival portion. This wasn't that important for academy students, but they did it never the less. Iruka wasn't surprised when Naruto did the best out of everyone. 'He even beat the Uchiha.' Thought Iruka, seeing the dirty look that Sasuke was sending Naruto's way. Only the kids from ninja clans did moderately well in this part. This wasn't considered crucial training for most clans when their children were so young. Naruto was also the only one who knew how to correctly set a spring trap.

After this, the last exercise of the day was the tiajutsu part of the exam. Naruto was not the best, but he was dam close. While all of the children from clans had been training longer, Naruto had some things that they didn't have, such as experience, and resolve. His experience helped him win his first round against Sasuke, while Naruto was beaten by Sasuke's technique, Naruto took the punch that gave him a bloody nose, and allowed him to hit Sasuke back. Sasuke was shocked at the first time he was really hit, and the first time seeing his own blood in a real fight, at least it was for him, that it allowed Naruto to get the win. Sasuke got over it fast though and beat Naruto with ranged attacks like kicks and such. He figured out that Naruto relied on getting close and using his 'unreal strength' to over power opponents. This wasn't actually Naruto's style. It was true that Naruto was using some of the moves that he was taught by the forms, but he was still a street fighter at heart, it would be awhile before he would trust his style completely.

While Naruto was pissed that he couldn't beat Sasuke, he decided to just train harder for next time. He would have loved to have gotten a chance to fight Kiba, but this was not a tournament, it was just an evaluation of skills. Naruto's and Sasuke's fight was the only one where blood was drawn actually. After that, they were allowed to go home. Naruto left the second that he could. He decided that he was going to try and hunt by throwing kunai and shiruken now. This turned out to be a disaster however as Naruto didn't catch anything in the little daylight he had left. It was clear to him that he was going to have to practice a lot more before he could hunt like that. Unfortunately he didn't get a lot of time to practice. With his mornings occupied working, most of the day at school where they mostly just did book work, he also had to actually catch animals too sell, and he also couldn't miss out on his regular exercises. After that first match with Sasuke, Naruto decided to do his forms for both his regular and sword techniques two times more a day. This left him very little time to practice throwing things. He reasoned that he wasn't going to be working forever and he could always just wait another few months. So that's exactly what he did.

It had been a month since the testing. The testing was only to determine the skill ranking in the practical portion of their study. That however, only took up about a fifth of the overall study time at the academy. For the first two years, all academy students had to focus on their indoor book studies. Naruto found the history part fascinating though. He was especially interested in any and all battles that were recorded for learning purposes. Not that it really surprised anybody that was following Naruto's education, as in, Kakashi, and the Hokage. Even though Naruto still could not read all that well, he was actually ok at math. Iruka guessed that this was due to him having to figure out prices and add in the factor of how much people would rip him off. At least Naruto did try very hard. Iruka at first only took Naruto to Ichiraku ramen to talk to him about how to behave in class, but after a little while, he did it just because he could. Naruto was of course suspicious of him, so he just told him the truth that he wanted to get to know him better. After Naruto understood this, he slowly started to open up to Iruka and tell him about his life over ramen. This obviously disturbed Iruka a lot; he was not sure how to react to that.

Naruto was limping to the academy, he had gotten jumped by a couple of masked ninja that he was no match for. Even though he fought back, he got the shit kicked out of him. After he cleaned him self up as much as he could, he decided that he might as well go to the academy anyway since he was so close.

Iruka was kind of worried, and relieved. Even though he had announced to the class that today was parents' day, he wasn't sure that Naruto understood what that meant. Naruto wasn't there, this was unheard of. Usually, Naruto was at least an hour early, 'I wonder if he just didn't want to be around this.' Thought Iruka as he looked around at everything going on. Almost the entire classes' parents had shown up. Parents were being shown the work the kids had done by the kids themselves, and later everybody would go out side for the sparing session. Of course Sasuke Uchiha was alone, as usual, sitting up at his desk with a folder with all of his work in it. But something was off. Sasuke was a lot meaner and distant than usual, the parents and Iruka knew what it was, but the kids didn't, especially his fan girls. This resulted in a few harsh words between Sasuke and the other kids until they figured that he wanted to be left alone. But Iruka noticed something; Sasuke kept looking at Naruto's empty desk.

As soon as Naruto walked in the room though, everyone got quiet real fast. He looked like shit. He had a fat lip, a black eye, and the right side of his face was scraped up very badly. You could tell that he had cleaned himself up, but it still looked bad. It was over as quickly as it began as the parents redirected their children back too their work. Iruka approached Naruto as he sat down and looked around.

"Naruto, what happened to you?" Iruka said in a concerned and hushed voice. But Naruto seemed distracted, as he was looking around at everyone's parents in confusion. "Um, I got jumped by a couple of chunin in masks, they thought that they could erase graffiti off a wall with my face," Naruto explained in an off hand way as he was still distracted at all of the commotion. "Hey Iruka-sensei, what's going on here?"

Iruka just sighed, "its parents day, remember, did you get a look at any kind of identification? Were they from the police force." Naruto was still confused, he wasn't sure what to expect, but this wasn't it. "No, I didn't really see anything other than that they were wearing those flack jackets." Iruka just nodded. There really wasn't anything that he could do, and besides, he doubted that the police force would do any kind of real investigation. Iruka just got Naruto a warm towel and left him alone. But things only got worse for Naruto, and Sasuke.

At first Naruto was just content to sit at his desk and do nothing, but he was starting to get pissed, and he didn't know why. He couldn't help but look around and see all of these other kids all happy with their parents, it pissed him off, and it was only getting worse.

There was still another three hours before school was out, and Naruto was now seething. He didn't notice, but Sasuke was feeling the same thing. Naruto was just sitting quietly at his desk, all of the activities and laughter around him was bringing up his hate. He didn't want to look around, he hated them. Every last one of them, every single one that was laughing and smiling with their parents. He didn't have a choice but to focus on his hate, it built off the kids, their parents, and the kid's stupid work. After a while just being in the room was starting to give him a head ache. He was feeling lethal right now. All he wanted to do was beat every single one of them till there was just paste left. He wanted someone to set him off. The parents for the most part tried to keep everything away from him and Sasuke who was thinking similar things. Unfortunately for everyone, Kiba was still mad at Naruto for humiliating him in front of Hinata.

Kiba walked up to Naruto's desk while his mom wasn't paying attention on the other side of the room. "Hey Naruto," Kiba said in a mocking tone with a smile, "what's the matter? Was your mom too ashamed to come and see your work?" he said again in a mocking tone. A couple of things happened at once; Sasuke's killing intent flared, Kiba's mom was on the other side of the room and because of her clans affiliation to dogs she heard what Kiba had said and was starting to panic because of it. Both Iruka and his mother started to run to get Kiba away from Naruto, but it was too late. Naruto stomped on Kiba's ankle, between his foot, and shin. When Kiba closed his eyes and winced in pain, Naruto grabbed his head. Naruto was able to smash Kiba's face on his desk three times before he was grabbed. The first time just hurt Kiba, the second time it broke his nose and blood spurted all over his desk, the third time his desk actually splintered a bit and threatened to break. If Naruto wasn't stopped, he would have broken his desk with Kiba's face before he beat him to death.

Naruto was grabbed from behind and was being dragged away, at first he resisted. He didn't care who was restraining him, or who was watching, fuck them. But then he made eye contact with Sasuke. What he saw was very familiar, that same anger, that hate. 'He's got the hate.' Naruto thought to himself. As he relaxed he and Sasuke shared an understanding nod of respect. After Iruka walked Naruto outside, he told him to go home, that he wasn't in trouble, that he heard what Kiba had said and his mother wasn't mad at him. Naruto didn't care; he wanted to kill some one right now. Apparently word traveled fast, because Kakashi was waiting for him at the gaits.

"What!" challenged Naruto with a death glare.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked not affected by the killing intent Naruto was giving off.

"I'm going to kill someone right now, why?" Naruto said looking strait into Kakashi's one eye. Kakashi just shook his head and moved in the way. Naruto wasn't in the mood to play around with words and things, he was leaving, now. Naruto punched Kakashi, not caring that he was probably going to break his arm, or have him expelled. Surprisingly, his fist connected with Kakashi's gut, though he didn't seem that affected. Naruto just snarled and hit him again, and again, and again. Until he wasn't aware that Kakashi was moving and letting him hit him in his arm, or chest. Naruto was crying, but he wasn't going to stop, he was going to kill them all. Naruto kept it up for almost an hour before he collapsed and a very bruised Kakashi picked up Naruto, and carried him back to his apartment.

_**Like I said at the beginning, I can just do a time skip in the next chapter, I'm honestly kind of bored writing about him being nine or ten. There really isn't all that much that he can do.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Sorry for the wait people. For some reason this was a very hard chapter to write, please enjoy.**_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

**Chapter 8**

Naruto woke up and immediately knew something was wrong. Without making any sudden movements, he slowly opened his eyes and took everything in. It took a few seconds, bet he realized he was at Kakashi's. In a flash, all of the events from the previous day came back to him. As he thought it over to see how he felt about it, he realized that it was just a weak moment. The only thing he was curios about was the rage that he felt for everyone else. He sat up and got his things together to get going to work for Tenchi. He didn't even bother to check if Kakashi was still there. If Kakashi wanted to confront him, he could find him; he didn't ask to be stopped. Actually he was kind of pissed, true, he probably would have made a mess of things and gotten caught. But it still would have felt better to kill someone with those emotions running threw him. As he walked to Tenchi's, his thoughts drifted back to what he did at the academy, but more so on why he did it. The more he thought about it, the better he felt about it. 'They have it coming, all of them. Every single one of them that doesn't appreciate what they have.' He smiled to himself as he thought about the looks he was going to be getting today. 'Good, let them be afraid of me. Ill show them what real fear is.' He laughed out loud at this thought.

Something else crossed his mind; he wanted to kill someone again. He knew that he was supposed to act with integrity like Iruka-sensei had told him, but he was finding it hard to care. Ninja didn't kill people because they felt like it, and he wouldn't either. He was better than that; he refused to become what all of the villagers said he was, even if it was true. On top of all of this, he knew what he did was wrong. He knew that it was evil too do these things, but again, it was hard to care right now. 'It's harder to act with integrity and honor than to say that you will.' He realized to himself with a sad smile. 'But what am I going to do? Even if I don't want to do it, I want to at the same time. I need to do it!' his small sad smile turned into a grimace of frustration on his face. 'I can't go on like this and put it off for the rest of my life.' The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became.

Naruto didn't usually talk when he worked, but today was different. Tenchi could tell that there was something going on, and it was none of his business. So he left Naruto alone. Naruto finished early; he seemed to want to get out of Tenchi's forge as early as possible. Naruto left without ever saying a word.

Naruto just sighed as he was heading back to his apartment. He had decided that he needed help. Whenever he was stuck like he was right now, he just sucked it up and asked a question. Even if it was humiliating, he wasn't going to learn any other way. And besides, he wasn't going to give up so soon on his new dream. Though he wasn't entirely sure what his dream was yet, but he knew that becoming a powerful shinobi was defiantly a big piece of it. 'If I'm going to die young, I might as well do it in pursuit of something I want.' This was his reasoning as he looked up with new determination.

As it turned out, he didn't have too look for someone to ask help from, Kakashi was waiting for him at his house.

"Are you ok?" he asked in a somehow detached and worried tone. Naruto narrowed his eyes at this, if there was one thing he didn't need, it was pity. He would rather take anyone's hate over their pity. Kakashi visibly winced when he saw Naruto's look, it seemed he realized the mistake he had made. Naruto just took a deep breath and looked at him, "no, I'm not. I'm afraid if I don't do something soon, I'm going to kill a lot of people." Naruto said in an even tone. It was true, for some reason it seemed like a reasonable solution to his problem, when in doubt, go kill or hurt something.

Surprisingly Kakashi seemed to expect this as he just nodded and made a hand gesture to come inside. Even though this was Naruto's apartment, he considered his tree house more of a home than this place. He had even had trouble sleeping here for a little while.

"I know what you need." Kakashi stated with certainty. Naruto was taken aback at this. At first he doubted he really knew what he needed. But then he realized how Kakashi had just said it, 'he knows that I need this, which means that he can help me and that I do have a shot at beating this. If he knows I need it just as much as I want it, maybe he can come to understand me too." he thought with hope and an honest smile. He didn't really want a friend, but someone who did understand him and accept him wouldn't be bad. But still, Naruto was careful; he didn't know how much Kakashi was willing to deal with.

"You know that I need this?" Naruto asked carefully. Kakashi nodded.

"I do. I know that you're not a bad person Naruto. These urges that you have aren't your fault; you had no control over it." Naruto couldn't help but disagree though. He had never had any illusions about himself. He was a monster, not on the same level that the demon was. But he knew the difference between right and wrong, and he simply didn't care. Normal people didn't feel like that.

As Kakashi looked at Naruto, he observed the small smirk Naruto had. He had expected this. 'If he can be saved from himself, it is going to take a long time to convince him that he isn't evil. Its going to be even harder since he probably wants to be evil, it feels too good to him.' Kakashi thought with a mental sigh.

"Here, I want you to look over this." Kakashi said as he handed Naruto a folder with some documents and photos. Naruto would never know this, but Kakashi had been waiting for this to happen, he had done the recon himself in his spare time. He knew that this was coming. Naruto did as he was told and opened it. There were reports and pictures of a group of bandits. He was getting better at reading, but he didn't understand all of it. From what he could tell, it was on a group of bandits that were keeping a low profile and just raiding small caravans in another county, and then they would cross back over to the fire country and live in comfort for a little while until they needed more supplies. They were too small time to really take all that seriously, but they did use the fire country as a safe zone. Since they were too small time for that country to risk an ANBU team, they continued to get away with it. This in turn made the hidden leaf village look bad, not that it was really that big of a deal, but still something needed to be done about it. Naruto had to admit his admiration for the simplicity and genius of the plan; they kept a low profile so they were just a minor nuisance, raided people who couldn't afford any real protection, and stayed in the fire country most of the time where they hadn't broken any serious laws.

Then he got to the part of the report that Kakashi had made up. Apparently this mission was perfect for a still green genin squad, but fresh squads typically consisted of children right out of the academy. Therefore, it really wouldn't be very wise to send some kids to be traumatized by their first kill at that young of an age. This made sense to Naruto, 'after all, these other kids aren't like me.' he thought as he took a closer look at the pictures. What he didn't know was that this was exactly what they would do to a genin team when they were ready for a high ranking C class mission. They were ninjas after all, and they trained for combat. The object of combat was to kill, period. Any one who thinks other wise is either a fool, or even worse, a wishful thinking and naïve person.

"So, what would be my part in this?" Naruto asked, genuinely curios. Kakashi kept a strait face. "Because of your needs, you would be aloud to come along with me, and help me take them out." Naruto's face lit up at this. Then his nightmare of a grin made an appearance, he could just imagine the screams and beauty of blood spraying in graceful beautiful arcs. Before he could get too exited at this, Kakashi held up his hand indicating that he wasn't done yet. "But there are a few conditions," Naruto nodded in understanding his face again serious. "First of all, you would have to wait a little bit. These aren't junkies, you will need to be prepared incase a fight breaks out." Naruto thought about it for a moment, it made sense. He would need to be a lot more prepared than he was right now.

"Can I trust you too not do anything until your ready? Ill help you get to where you need to be, but you have to promise not to kill anyone else in the village."

Naruto thought about it, he was right. If he wanted to be a ninja, he would have to act like one. If he wanted this opportunity, he would have to earn it, to prove that he could be trusted to keep his word. "I understand, ill do what I have to do to earn it." Naruto said with a look of determination devoid of any sadistic nature. Kakashi studied him, and nodded. Even though he didn't show it, Kakashi was pleased. If Naruto was willing to try that hard to do the right thing, it meant that he wasn't a lost cause after all.

"Ok, we will start immediately. Ill talk to Iruka for you; for the time being, at the end of every school day, when the physical and applied training starts, you will instead go to your tree house for training. I'm warning you though, if you want to go through with this. You are going to have to work very, very hard. We don't have unlimited time here, and you have a long way to go before your ready for even a stealth mission like this." Naruto nodded again in understanding. He was going to do whatever he had to do. If he wanted this, he was going to have to work for it. "Alright, you better get ready for school." Kakashi said with an eye smile. Naruto looked at the clock and realized that he only had twenty minuets to get ready now.

Naruto was just getting to the academy, and he was honestly excited. His huge smile creeped out more than a few parents who had seen what he did yesterday, but he didn't care. As he was walking to his room he was looking forward to seeing what Kiba's face looked like. He got his answer as he walked in the door. Iruka was ready to start when he walked in, so all eyes were on him. The first thing he did was look at Kiba. His face was a mess, it was swollen, and he had a nose bandage to help his broken nose. As soon as Kiba looked at him, Naruto smiled and waved. Naruto then laughed when Kiba gave him a dirty look. Naruto took his place next to the pale eyed girl with the fainting spells.

**Three months later:**

Iruka was impressed. He wasn't sure at first, but Kakashi's plan was working a lot better than he had initially thought it would. Kakashi had approached him before he even talked to Naruto. 'I have to hand it to Kakashi; Naruto is trying even harder than he usually is.' Thought Iruka during his lunch break. It was true, as hard as Naruto worked; at least twenty percent of his day was usually spent glaring at some of the other students. But after the parent day, Naruto was paying strict attention to his lessons. For the first time, Naruto looked happy. He was completely oblivious to the looks he was getting from the other students. He either didn't notice them, which wouldn't be a stretch considering he had somehow missed the fact that Hinata had a crush on him, or he didn't care. Iruka sighed, 'at least him and Sasuke are ignoring each other." He thought to himself as he finished eating.

Naruto was trying very hard not to fidget in his seat; it was almost time to leave. He glanced back at the clock hoping that it had made more progress since the last time he had checked. It hadn't really moved that much, for whatever reason, the minuet hand doesn't move after fifteen seconds.

"Alright class, its time to go outside for the physical part of class, Naruto, you can leave." The second Iruka said this Naruto was out of his seat and charging through the door. Naruto's training was anything but easy, in fact after the first day he couldn't move for a full day, even with his healing abilities.

**Flashback:**

_Naruto was very eager and it showed on his face. He was let out of class early so that he could meet up with Kakashi. He was actually a little torn at this. Sparing practice had just started on a regular basis, and he wanted to hurt someone right now. However, it was worth it just to see the looks on some of the other kid's faces when they heard that he wasn't going to be able to spar with anybody. There was an audible sigh of relief when Iruka announced that Naruto wouldn't stay for that part of the day. Apparently, no one was very keen to fight a kid who openly admitted to killing people. Actually, that was the whole reason Naruto wanted to become a ninja and he wasn't shy about it. Everybody was afraid of him, and he loved it. The only one who seemed disappointed was Sasuke. In a small way, Naruto almost felt bad for the guy, there were maybe two or three real fighters in the class, but they didn't really have all that much of a chance against Sasuke. Naruto thought about it, and took it back. 'Fuck him.' Was his next thought, and then he banished him out of his head._

_As soon a Naruto bounded up to Kakashi he just sweat drooped. Kakashi had for some reason left a cardboard cut out of himself in that weird pose with him eye smiling, complete with an air bubble with text in it. "Hmm," Naruto wondered out loud as he read the text. "Hello Naruto! Today you are going to have to find me. Put on the weighted vest at my feet and follow the treasure map provided. Just make sure to run silently, or I will hear you." Naruto again sweat dropped. _

_Naruto looked down, and sure enough, there was a strap on weight vest, and a treasure map. Naruto resisted the urge to rip it up. He decided to just play Kakashi's game and plan revenge later. The vest wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be, it only added an additional fifty pounds to everything. By now, fifty pounds wasn't all that much for Naruto, he wasn't lifting weights or anything, but he knew that he could have worn a lot more than that. But what he didn't know was that fifty pounds makes a big difference when you're trying to be stealthy and move silently. Naruto assumed it would be the same as the chakra weight restraints that he always wore, but as he was soon to find out, he was very wrong. _

_As it turned out, running with actual weights was different than the usual chakra resistance ones he was used too. But running silently was something else all together. It took Naruto a little while to figure out how to do it, but eventually he got it down. He had to land softly while having seventy pounds on both ankles, fifty on both hands, and the vest. It was very hard to keep it up for a couple hours and even harder if it was almost all cross country and up hill._

_By the time Naruto reached the end of the map he was on top of the Hokage monument and gasping for breath. While he had successfully ran without making any sound, he was gasping for breath, and no longer cared if Kakashi heard him. After Naruto caught his breath he looked around and saw Kakashi staring off the monument over the village. "Ok, so maybe it was a little hard, but ill get better at it. Kakashi?" Naruto asked as Kakashi still hadn't responded after a minuet. As Naruto walked up he just face faulted. Standing guard was another card board cut out of Kakashi striking a dramatic pose of him staring over the village. There was also a note congratulating him, but telling him that he needed to hurry up, and try it again after he took a day to stretch out. Naruto was so pissed that he threw the card board cut out off the mountain. _

**Present: **

Naruto was gasping for air, trying to resist the urge to collapse. "Again." Kakashi ordered. Naruto launched at him with every once of strength he had in him. He lunged at him with his sword drawn, did a fake to the left, then spun and did a small flip looking to decapitate Kakashi. Naruto never even saw what Kakashi did, one second it looked as if he was going to kill him, the next he was face down in the dirt with Kakashi's foot on his back. "Alright, that enough. Tomorrow is Friday; take the day off, Saturday, I'm taking you into the Forest of Death." Kakashi said in a disinterested tone. Naruto's eyes just got really big as he slowly picked himself up.

'The Forest of Death? My god, I hope im ready for this.' Naruto thought as he shook his head. For the first time Naruto was honestly worried about dying under Kakashi's extreme training regimen.

It was true; Kakashi had managed to push Naruto past his limits many times over in the last three months. At first he had just conditioned Naruto to run without making any noise. After Naruto could do the run he did on his first day in less than two hours, he started training Naruto in the more advanced forms of his unique style. There were dozens and dozens of forms for his normal hand to hand style, Naruto had mastered eight of them so far. After a month and a half of that kind of training, Kakashi had picked up Naruto's sword training. As he had expected, Naruto was starting to make his own moves and counters with the blade. It was going to be a long time before he truly made the style his own, but he was more than able to handle himself. Tiajutsu wise, adding in his swordsmanship, he was at a low genins' level. This was very good for a child his age.

The weekend came and went; Naruto was practically the walking dead when he got out of the forest. While they were in the forest, Kakashi made him wear the vest and continue with his exercises even when they got into the deeper and even more dangerous parts. Even Kakashi had to be careful. Working Naruto to the brink like this was Kakashi's plan though; he needed to work Naruto like this so he could teach him better, and faster. The object of this was to make him so tired that he was running on just instinct. He had to make him tired, so tired that the only thing that got through to him was Kakashi's voice going strait into his subconscious. Needless to say, Kakashi was impressed, Naruto could not have worked harder, he would have done his training exercises until he died of exhaustion if Kakashi had let him.

Kakashi was no longer worried that Naruto wouldn't be able to keep in the shadows and complete the mission with no difficulty. He made sure Naruto knew not to engage the bandits; this was a stealth mission, not an assault. He led Naruto back to his apartment, and made sure Naruto was asleep before he left to go report to the Hokage.

"Well, how did it go?" Sarutobi asked in an all business tone. Kakashi put his book away indicating that he was taking this just as seriously as he was.

"Better than I thought it would. His survival skills are well past any chunin. Even with my help, there wasn't all that much that was needed to be taught to him about how to stay alive." Kakashi said in an honest tone, the Hokage even picked up a trace of pride in talking about Naruto. The Hokage only frowned though, as much as it hurt, he needed to remind Kakashi of what Naruto was, and not what he could potentially be.

"Can he handle it? The mission I mean, does he have the restraint not to get himself noticed, and to be able to hold back and watch you do most of the wet work?" there was silence for a moment as the meaning behind the words sunk in.

Kakashi sighed. "In all honesty I don't know, but I don't think we have a choice in the matter. Its either we do this while I'm with him, or we let him kill junkies and whores until he starts to get B ranked missions. We need to do this, you know he _needs_ this." Kakashi said giving the Hokage a meaningful look.

The Hokage nodded sadly. "I know he does, and I fear he always will. I think that we were to late Kakashi; too late to save him from becoming exactly what the villagers and counsel were afraid of him being in the first place. We didn't get to him soon enough, we had to let him sign a contract with the fox before we acted." The Hokage said miserably. Kakashi only nodded in defeated agreement.

"I know, no matter what happens now, Naruto will still develop along those lines. It's even too dangerous to let other kids around him alone. He despises them." Kakashi said bitterly. The Hokage only raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know this, it wasn't in any of the reports I've read, the incident with the Inuzuka boy couldn't have been enough to get him to hate everyone." Sarutobi said in a worried voice. Kakashi only sighed.

"When he was in the forest in his stupor I asked him simple things that he could answer with yes and no. im sure that he is feeling lonely, even if he doesn't know it himself. I doubt he will let anyone close to him, at least right now." Kakashi sighed again as he thought of something and added, "in fact, it will probably be harder to get other people to want to be near him. We both know his bloodlust would have been there no matter what, that in it self would have been hard enough for other kids his age to accept, but with the way he is continuing to develop, …" Kakashi didn't need to finish, didn't want to finish. They both knew what he was becoming; he was turning into a monster. Sarutobi almost cried, they were failing, despite their best efforts; they simply had gotten to Naruto to late.

The aged Hokage took a deep breath, 'if there was no way to turn Naruto back on the path that he should have been on, they were just going to have to make the best of it. I refuse to allow Naruto to turn into a murdering psychopath.' Thought Sarutobi with renewed determination. "If we cannot turn him back to where he should have been, we will help him become a good person, as well a killer." The Hokage said with a steady look. Kakashi just returned the look.

"Can we do that? Is it possible for someone to be a monster, and a good person?" Kakashi said in a voice that Sarutobi had never heard before, it was somewhere between hopeful, and nostalgic.

Sarutobi just gave him an empathetic look, Minato did it, and if there is anyone in the world that can do it, Naruto is the one to succeed. But we need to be careful, and figure out how to do this. Naruto will not have the support that Minato did." Sarutobi said sadly. Kakashi just nodded, and the two spent the night trying to figure out how to help Naruto achieve something that only the most powerful shinobi in the world had been able to do.

Naruto almost didn't make it to work the next morning. Even with the Kyubi's healing powers, Naruto was very tired even though he had gotten twelve hours of solid sleep. By the time Naruto reached the academy, his adrenaline was keeping him wide awake, at least for the first half of the day.

Fortunately, today was the day Iruka introduced chakra to the kids. A lot of them already knew about it, and a few had even started to work with it, like Sasuke. The subject was fascinating to Naruto, so much so that he forgot about his special mission coming up. He asked questions that other kids wanted to know too. Not that anyone would say anything if he did ask a stupid question. After Naruto had smashed up Kiba's face, everybody avoided him. Naruto was ok with this, actually happy. Even if he did secretly want friends, he knew that these were not the kids he wanted them with. Not one of them had ever taken a life, so how could he remotely relate to any of them?

After the school day was over, Naruto decided that the smart thing to do was just go home and sleep. He was convinced that he had discovered the secret to happiness, or at least a piece of the puzzle. He decided that a person could be at least content if they got enough good sleep. Little did Naruto know that he was partially right. Depressed people sleep a lot; this is not their decision per-say, but a natural reaction by the body. The body knows that sleep is a big part of being mentally sound and happy, so it subconsciously tells a person that sleep is a good idea, or at least it's something along those lines.

Naruto was on edge and alert, and it was making everyone around him very uncomfortable. He wasn't irritable, he was very calm, but you could tell that he was just coiled and ready to strike. His calm demeanor was terrifying. Hinata, who was sitting next to him was nervous; while Hinata hadn't done anything to tell or even talk to Naruto, she had tried to understand him more. She followed him and watched him from a distance. She watched him train and hunt. He almost caught her once, she had gotten too close, but she learned she had to stay away and use her byakuugan to spy on him. It was actually good practice for her. But something was different about him today, and as much as she admired and crushed on him from afar, she knew better than to not be afraid, or at least wary of him. He was completely focused, centered, as if he was expecting a fight. He wasn't paying attention to Iruka at all, but Iruka either didn't notice, or decided to leave Naruto alone. Hinata decided on the latter, Iruka was a good teacher in her opinion, and the only one who apparently cared about Naruto enough to want to spend time with him. Hinata was torn, she wasn't sure if she should follow Naruto today, not sure if she wanted to see what he was going to do. She was right though, today was the day Naruto was going to leave with Kakashi.

As the bell rung Naruto stood up and walked across the room smoothly and with purpose, all of the other kids got out of his way. They knew he was up to something, and they didn't want to be in his way.

'Today's the day, the day I set out on my first mission. The day I'm allowed to kill, and if I'm lucky, torture. The day I need to prove that I can follow orders without question. The day the rest of my life may be determined by. How I act and react on this mission will be a major role in deciding what to do with me when I graduate the academy. It would be easer to just kill me, true it would deprive them of a possible good ninja in the future, but it would be less risky. They are giving me a chance here, something that I cannot let slip by. They need to know what I am, and that I can control it as well. Its time.' These were Naruto's thoughts as he looked at himself in his mirror. For the first time he was wearing his full battle gear, complete with the armored trench coat and the short sword strapped to his lower back. His hair was long enough to get in his eyes now, so he tied a black head band on his forehead to keep it off his face.

Naruto critically took in the sight of himself; he looked deadly, like a sharpened blade. Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He slowly let it out and opened his eyes. "Its time." He said barely above a whisper. He knew that he may not even be able to kill anyone; that even if he didn't kill anyone that It would be expected to satisfy his bloodlust. But the idea of seeing a real professional like Kakashi do it was just as exciting. Naruto quietly left his apartment and headed to the main gaits to leave the village for the first time in his life.

Kakashi was waiting patiently. He had been in the same spot for an hour, just waiting. Kakashi was never late when it mattered, and it defiantly mattered right now. This was going to be the most important mission on a personal level since he lost Obito. It was also important for Naruto to see that he was serious when it was important, so he waited for Naruto to show up. As predicted, Naruto was five minuets early. Kakashi shushunied beside him and they left at a silent run wordlessly.

The next three days were spent in almost complete silence. Naruto was no longer wearing the weight vest, but he was still wearing his chakra restraints. The first two days Kakashi had told Naruto to practice his meditations that drew out his chakra and started the true growth of it. Chakra was the subject of their longest conversation during their mission. Naruto had asked Kakashi about it in general, wondering about the more complex meanings and uses behind it. Kakashi told him that it was too advanced for Naruto to understand, but he told him why the academy was having the students practicing drawing out their chakra. The reasons other than the obvious any way.

It fascinated Naruto; it was a way to get stronger almost without limit, in theory anyway. Kakashi explained that when students first started to summon their chakra out, it actually changed your body. After a little while of doing the meditation pose while making the hand sign that was taught to him to gather chakra, your charka coils would automatically develop on their own. During the process of development, it was the chakra that allowed the body to expand upon and reach its true limits. Naruto was curios about this; he knew that normal people lifted weights and stuff, so why couldn't they get strong enough to crush boulders like ninja could? It was because of the chakra. Kakashi didn't bother going into the subject any deeper, knowing that Naruto would not be able to understand it for a long time anyway.

Naruto was dressed in his full battle attire, hiding in a tree waiting to spring his trap. It was not hard to find the bandit camp, after a little bit of recon; Kakashi had asked Naruto to come up with a plan to take them all out without anyone of them knowing it was coming. Naruto was surprised, but was happy for the opportunity. It didn't take more than ten minutes to come up with his plan; it was simple, and effective. Naruto knew that there wasn't supposed to be any open fighting, so he was careful to factor in Kakashi's skills. He had purposely given Kakashi most of the kills in his plan outline. He was sure that part of the test would be to see if he was going to get greedy with the kills.

'Besides, it makes sense, they all sleep together, and Kakashi can take them all out by himself anyway. I don't want to take any chances anyway.' Naruto thought to himself as he sat in perfect stealth as a guard passed underneath him.

Naruto's plan had called for Naruto to take out the night watch silently, and Kakashi to take out the rest of the camp. Naruto was also Kakashi's back up if any of them did catch on, or try to run away. Naruto had set up a trap with strengthened ninja wire a little bit ago, and couldn't wait to literally cut this guy down. The bandit was not taking his duty seriously, the fact that he was caring around a porno and cup of coffee was proof of that.

Naruto waited for the go ahead signal from Kakashi, it was an owl hooting three times with a pause between the second and third hoots. If the pause was between the first and second, they were to abort the mission. Naruto was ready, up and poised in the tree, grabbing the two handles that would spring the trap. The idiot had been in the perfect spot to get cut up for almost thirty seconds, but still, Naruto waited. The bandit started to move back to the camp towards the fire. He was almost out of range, but Naruto didn't move a muscle, it was Kakashi's call. Suddenly, one hoot, two hoots, pause, and a final third hoot. Naruto didn't hesitate. He smoothly and quietly yanked both handles back as if he had a garret wire in his hands. He did it as hard as he could, his trap worked perfectly. Thin ninja wires came up from the ground so fast that they couldn't be seen by the naked eye. The bandit suddenly stood stock still. Naruto watched the bandits eyes focus for a second on the wires that were in front of him, taking the design of a standard chain linked fence. It was a full second latter that the man split apart in dozens of little pieces.

Naruto couldn't help but lean out of the tree for a moment. Naruto got a deep, warm, and satisfying feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched with his night vision, as the blood pooled out from the dismembered corpse. Naruto was so fascinated with the blood as it pooled out in a big puddle that he almost missed Kakashi's work. Back at the camp, only two of the other bandits were awake, a man and a woman making out. Steadily feathers fell from the wooded sky and they both fell asleep in each others arms. Kakashi calmly walked out and slit all six of the bandit's throats before he went to Naruto's side and examined Naruto's work. Kakashi then photographed and recorded all of it quickly, and then gave a slight nod before both him and Naruto left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**I don't like this chapter as much as the others, it was frustrating to get this out, but I felt I needed it in the story. There will be a time skip in the next chapter, just so you know. Please comment, I do enjoy reading reviews, even short ones.**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: **

Four years later:

Naruto Uzumaki, now thirteen, was waiting patiently for his turn for his exam. Naruto had been very loyal, in the four years since his mission with Kakashi; Naruto had only killed eight people. All of them had it coming, and had attacked him first. The reason that nobody looked down on him, or at least didn't press charges, for these deaths was because it was apparent that he was trying to change, or at least trying to follow the rules. There had actually been almost twenty attempts on Naruto's life; the rest of them had been spared by Naruto. There were of course other incidents from which Naruto had only hospitalized people who simply wanted to fight. All of this was of course an improvement over what he was doing. However, he was far from being celebrated though. While he didn't actually torture any of them, he had killed them in very gruesome ways. Two had been decapitated, three were disemboweled, one was impaled on a fence, and the last two had one of their arms torn off resulting in death from massive blood loss.

Another factor in this that most didn't know was that Naruto was also too busy to kill people. After the first time he went 'hunting', and I mean the kids that he killed in the abandoned building, Naruto had really gotten into killing. He had always enjoyed it, but that woke something up inside of him. But now, even if he didn't care about following the rules set out for him, he was simply too busy with training and such to worry about it. So killing went from what could have become a way of life, to being a sort of temporary hobby that he enjoyed whenever the opportunity arose.

Back in the class room, Naruto was nervous. While he had learned to read and write quite well, he was having a lot of trouble with almost all basic jutsus. He did the best in history, but he was still far from the top of the class due to his pore practical grades. This was very ironic as the only one that could occasionally beat him in sparing was Sasuke Uchiha. The other students from other shinobi family sometimes came close, but never did beat him. On top of this, no one could even come close in regards to his stealth and speed. But even with all of this, he had a lot of trouble with most chakra and jutsu exercises. Naruto rarely saw Kakashi, and when he did, it was usually just to show Naruto more forms and other things like that. Naruto now had twenty-seven forms mastered, and was now considered to be an intermediate swordsman, though he still had not been able to fully integrate it into his unorthodox style. His hand to hand combat now had a lot of low level acrobatics in them. What this meant, was that a lot of Naruto's more advanced moves depended on him either being completely in the air, or being close to the ground. Naruto did learn after almost six months how to do a perfect henge. But that was almost the extent of his abilities. The only other jutsu that he had down was the replacement jutsu which Naruto had refused to do anything else until he had mastered it completely.

As for his strait physical abilities, he was three times as strong as he was when he entered the academy, and was almost four times as fast. Though he didn't know it, the only ninja in his age group that was faster than him was Lee. At age twelve, Naruto had the strength of a male civilian adult that lifted weights. Now, Naruto was even stronger with the help of his chakra development. Naruto's chakra level was that of a mid chunin though.

Both Iruka and Kakashi knew exactly what the problem was, Naruto had too much chakra. The academy level jutsus were selected for the reason that they didn't require a lot of chakra and were easier to perform. This way the child was able to practice the technique and incidentally improve their chakra control. But with Naruto it was like trying to use a fire hose to fill up a shot glass. The chakra control required was simply far too great for Naruto. This is was the main reason that Naruto had failed the exam the previous two times.

All of this was going through Naruto's mind. He knew about his problem, and was just praying that his other test scores could set it off the fact that he could not perform a bunshin. Naruto sighed as another student came out of the back room with his head band. Finally, it was his turn. As Mizuki called his name out with a smirk, Naruto sighed and got up. Mizuki and Naruto had a history by now. Mizuki started teaching at the academy at the start of Naruto's second year, and they hated each other. Mizuki went out of his way to humiliate Naruto as often as he could. He would have Naruto stand in front of the entire class and have him attempt to try a bunshin or something. Or he would force Naruto to read out loud back when he couldn't read very well. Naruto in return, did nothing except hold his head high and dealt with it. He could care less what the other students thought of him anyway. They were all cowards really; they would only ever laugh at him if the whole class could do it all at once, safety in numbers. The only one that had the balls to either insult, challenge, or laugh at Naruto openly and independently was Sasuke, and for this, Sasuke had earned a small amount of respect from Naruto. In turn, Naruto was also the only one that would insult, laugh, or openly challenge Sasuke. Though this was because he was considered the villages golden boy, Sasuke hated that though, and Naruto doing what he did gained him some respect in Sasuke's eyes.

Naruto gave Mizuki an empty look devoid of any emotion whatsoever. He had known people like him before, he was a sadist, and he loved to watch people squirm. 'Actually, isn't that what I'm like?' Naruto thought with a thoughtful expression as he made his way to the office that the examinations were being held in. Naruto thought maybe he should be disgusted that he was like Mizuki in the slightest, but then dismissed it as he realized that he didn't care. What Naruto didn't see was the kind look and wave of encouragement sent to him by Hinata as he left the class room.

"Hey Naruto, how are you today." Iruka said with an eye smile. Naruto sweat dropped as he had yet to see a shinobi smile without closing their eyes. 'Maybe it has something to do with trust?' he mused.

"I'm fine." Naruto responded curtly, but not being rude. He clearly wanted to get this over with. Iruka apparently got the message as he nodded with a small nod of encouragement and luck.

Mizuki started first, "alright were going to start off with," suddenly Mizuki threw a kunai at Naruto who just puffed into a book. "a replacement jutsu." Mizuki finished with a frown apparently disappointed that that hadn't killed Naruto. If Naruto was upset with this, he didn't show it, he just calmly walked back to the center of the room. Iruka however was furious, that was a real kunai. He was going to start a fight, but calmed himself and leaned over to Mizuki with a pleasant look and whispered into his ear. It wasn't meant for Naruto to over hear it, but because of his advanced senses, he did.

"Pull one more stunt like that Mizuki, and I swear to god, ill end you." Iruka just went back to his original sitting position and picked up some papers. Mizuki just looked annoyed. Meanwhile Naruto was thinking, 'end you, I like the sound of that, ill have to remember it.' Naruto also realized that he really couldn't thank Iruka since he wasn't supposed to have heard that. Naruto had almost gotten used to this by now though, it still felt weird and awkward, but he was slowly opening up and becoming friends with Iruka who seemed to not mind that Naruto liked to kill people. Naruto hadn't really made any other friends his age, but was getting close.

"Ok Naruto, looking at your other test scores, your doing alright, and you can obviously do a replacement jutsu fine, so moving on. Can you do a henge of someone please?" Iruka smiled knowing that Naruto had this one; he had spent time with Naruto on this and helped him master it. Naruto nodded, made the appropriate hand signs, and with a poof, turned into a perfect replica of Kakashi. Mizuki was surprised, he had heard of Kakashi, and even saw him once, but he would have had to spend some time around Naruto for him to get him so perfectly. 'What the hell is the copy ninja doing hanging around the demon child?' thought Mizuki with another frown on his face. 'Oh well, it doesn't matter, Naruto can't graduate without doing a successful bunshin, and I know he can't do one.' Mizuki thought with a smirk now on his face.

"All right Naruto, I need to see you do two successful bunshins at once." Iruka said with an encouraging smile, hoping that Naruto could do it. Naruto had been working very hard on his bunshin, he knew he was bad at it, but he was confident that he could do it. He had done it successfully before, but he couldn't do it consistently, even with the countless hours of training he put in. He took a deep breath, and gave it his best. He made the hand signs, and two puffs of smoke popped up. Iruka was holding his breath, Mizuki was just smirking, and Naruto had a hopeful look on his face. Apparently he thought he had actually gotten it that time, it had felt right. When the smoke cleared, it revealed one perfect bunshin, and complete failed one that looked something like a weak ghost on the floor.

"HA!" Mizuki laughed out loud. Iruka gave him a disgusted look before looking back at Naruto and his face softened. For the first time, he saw a look of utter despair and disappointment on Naruto. Even when Naruto was humiliated, he never gave up, not ever. But right now it looked like he wanted to die.

"Naruto," Iruka started in a gentle tone, but before he could continue Naruto interrupted him. "I know, I failed, and because I couldn't do this, everything else is irrelevant." And with that, Naruto walked out into the classroom for everybody to see he had failed. But that wasn't what Iruka was worried about. He had seen Naruto pissed off, he even saw him when he was in a rage, but that was different. Naruto sounded, and looked empty, devoid of any emotion what so ever. It scared Iruka, he knew Naruto well enough that the first person to give Naruto a dirty look would probably die a horrible death, all the while Naruto would have a blank look on his face. He had shut down.

As Naruto walked back into the classroom full of students laughing and playing around, everybody froze. Not only in fear from the look on Naruto's face, but also in shock. Naruto could easily beat any one of them in any practical exercise. Everybody knew it was the clones that got him, but it was still hard for people to accept that Naruto had failed. Then there was the fear. Everybody had seen Naruto act sadistic and even pissed off where he admitted that he wanted to kill someone just to make himself feel better. But none of them had ever seen his face the way it was right now. It was a look of cold indifference, of a killer. It was the face they all knew even though they had never seen it before, they didn't have to though. By now, all of the kids were able and trained to pick up on killing intent, bloodlust, and some of the more gifted students were even able to pick up on the happier emotions. Everybody always had some kind of aura around them, even if they couldn't interpret it. Naruto didn't have one; it was almost like he didn't exist. And by the look on his face, he probably felt like he didn't. Normally Naruto would have either been disgusted or sadistically happy at the feel and scent of fear being given off from everybody in the classroom, even the Uchiha. But he simply didn't care right now.

Naruto didn't bother to stay for the rest of the day; he left and went to sit on the lone swing under the tree that was out of the way, he was finished. They had given him every chance to succeed and gone out of their way to give him opportunities, and now he had failed. He couldn't imagine them putting up with him any more. It was over, his dream, his life; everything that he had ever truly worked for was gone. Naruto looked down, defeated. Naruto would have cried if he could, he had lost that ability a long time ago; he couldn't do it even if he had wanted to.

As Naruto watched all of the other kids come out to be embraced and congratulated by their families and friends, the only thought he had was, 'What now?' He had nothing. He wouldn't be aloud to stay in the nice apartment; he would be homeless, forced into the forest. He had no one to comfort him, no one that truly cared for his well being. At least as far as he knew. He was going to be alone, again. He had always been alone, but now that he had a small taste of what it was like to have friends; he realized that he would rather be tortured and go through every hurt he had ever been through if it meant that he wouldn't have to be alone again. For the first time in his life, Naruto felt despair, and knew heartache.

Mizuki was pleased, ecstatic even. He had just figured out a way to take advantage of the Kyubi brat and help him out at the same time. He put on a good show, but the truth was that he hated every single child in that stupid academy. And now he was finally going to get a chance to get away and find true power. (You all know what his plan is, for the most part anyway.) Mizuki had a small smirk as he walked up to a defeated looking Naruto.

Naruto looked up and saw Mizuki coming over to gloat. Normally Naruto would have been pissed, annoyed, or something, but he just didn't have the energy to feel anything right now.

"Go away; I don't want to deal with you right now." When Mizuki stood there unmoving, Naruto looked up into his smiling face and looked him in the eyes. "What? Is there anything else that you can take? I have nothing else to offer, just go away, you win." Naruto said in a strangely calm voice. Mizuki just stayed and smirked a little wider.

"Actually I'm here to make a deal, not anything to do with the academy or anything, you washed out of that." Naruto was vaguely interested now. "I know you appreciate the truth, so I'm going to be strait with you. I'm leaving this village, and I need to take something with me, but I can't be seen doing it." Naruto had heard enough, he already knew were this was going.

"You mean that your going to become a missing-nin, and you want me to steal something for you, isn't that right?" suddenly Naruto's eyes got big, he had just realized what he had done. He figured out that a ninja was planning on going rouge, and he had pretty much confronted him about it. Naruto didn't have a choice now but to help him, if he didn't Mizuki would kill him. Naruto just cursed at his stupidity, he was already dead, there was no way Mizuki would let him live, no matter what. He would probably do it out of spite anyway.

As Naruto looked back up at Mizuki with hate and recognition in his eyes, Mizuki just laughed as he saw Naruto put it together. "Don't worry Naruto, I'm not going to kill you; I'm actually going to pay you." Mizuki said as he got on eye level with Naruto and handed him a bag of money. "That's half now, half later. Here take this too, meet me there at midnight, I don't think I have to say what will happen if you don't show or you tattle tale on me now, do I?" Mizuki said with a cruel smile on his face. Naruto just took the map and document in a folder Mizuki was holding out to him and nodded, he knew that he was screwed.

"Good boy, see you later Naruto."

And with that, Mizuki left, but that didn't help Naruto. He had no way to tell if Mizuki was watching him so he couldn't approach anybody. If Mizuki did think he was going to rat, he would kill him and ditch his body somewhere. Naruto knew that it would probably be celebrated when his body was found. Naruto didn't know what to do; he knew Mizuki was going to kill him. That's what he would do, try and convince someone who he thought was good enough to get away with it, while not good enough to not be seen doing it. Then kill the fall guy while he ran and got far enough away as possible.

'Yep, im screwed, there is no way that I'll be able to kill or ambush Mizuki either. He will be watching, and he can't let others know that he's running, or that he's taking something with him.' Naruto just hung his head, and then he heard foot steps coming from the side of him, maybe twenty feet or so, but not trying to hide themselves.

Naruto thought that it was probably someone who was coming over to gloat or something like that. Actually, he might just pick a fight to get hurt, for some reason whenever he thought about all of it, failing, Mizuki, his entire life, he just felt like taking a beating. Naruto looked up and to his surprise saw Kakashi walking over to him.

In that moment Naruto saw Kakashi, Naruto got an idea. 'Can I trust him? He can beat Mizuki, but can he get to him before he gets to me? Is it worth it? If I do this, I probably will die; Mizuki is probably listening and watching right now. What do I owe Kakashi anyway? I'm not a ninja; I'm not even in the academy anymore. He has helped me a lot over the years, but I didn't ask for it, and I always paid him back. But Mizuki will get away with whatever it is, and it may put the village at risk. Is that my problem though? Why should I sacrifice myself for this shit hole?' All of this was going threw Naruto's head in a flash, and this was not lost on Kakashi.

'My god' was Kakashi's only thought as he saw Naruto, saw that look on his face. It was a look that Kakashi was very familiar with; one that he himself had worn for a while. It was the look shinobi got when they had been in combat to long, when they had given up on everything, when nothing mattered anymore. And on Naruto, it was scary. Kakashi knew very well what Naruto was capable of, and seeing Naruto so close to being broken like this, it could be very easy for the Kyubi to get Naruto to release him. Kakashi visibly shuddered. But just as he was about to go and talk to Naruto, he saw Mizuki approach him. Kakashi's eye narrowed, he knew that Mizuki was a prick to Naruto, and he wasn't all that popular with other shinobi either. "What are you up to Mizuki?" Kakashi wondered out loud.

Naruto was running like he had never run before in his life. He probably only had two or three minutes until they figured out what had happened. Naruto was running in his full combat gear, armed with a full kunai and shuriken pouch, his trench knife, and his ninjato, (Short sword.) and finally a huge scroll on his back. Naruto had planned out this little operation as well as he could, and he had decided finally upon a plan that suited him. He knew Mizuki was going to betray him, and if he was going to die tonight, one way or another, he was going to go down swinging and try to take him with him.

'Just two more miles' Naruto thought to himself as he pushed himself a little harder. In a way it was exhilarating though, Naruto at the moment had all of his weight restraints taken off, and he was so much faster than he thought it was he couldn't even remember the last time he had trained without them. Finally Naruto got to the small clearing right out in the middle of no where. Naruto set the scroll down and rested a little while he waited for Mizuki to show up.

It didn't take long; Mizuki was there after forty-minutes. "You little shit! I saw you go into the Hokage tower with Kakashi!" Mizuki yelled at a calm Naruto, apparently he was expecting this.

Naruto raised both of his hands, "calm down, I didn't tell them anything. I have the scroll right here." Naruto said as he pointed to the giant scroll.

"Prove it." Mizuki said dangerously. Mizuki was obviously pissed, and understandably very wary.

"Well for one, you are here, so you weren't arrested. Nobody else is here, or else you wouldn't come out into the open like you have. And finally, I can prove that this scroll is genuine." Naruto said with an emotionless face.

Mizuki had to say, Naruto made sense. "Well, prove that it's the real scroll, I don't have time to verify it myself by reading it." Mizuki said in an all business tone, with a hint of killing intent as well. It clearly wasn't a request. But if Naruto was intimidated in any way, he didn't show it.

"While I was waiting, I looked over the scroll to see if there was anything I could get out of it. Almost all were out of my league, but I was able to master one technique. The shadow clone technique." Mizuki raised an eyebrow. 'Well that would certainly prove that it's the real thing; there isn't another way that he could have learned it. But still, that's a Jonin level move, how the hell did he master it in under an hour?' Mizuki thought to himself with a frown. "Well then, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and show me so I can get a move on." Mizuki said impatiently.

Naruto nodded and made a cross shaped sign, there was a poof of smoke, and there were now three Naruto's. Mizuki's frown deepened even more. 'He has indeed mastered it; I can't tell which one is the real one.'

"Is that good enough?" they both said at once. Mizuki nodded with a smirk.

"Yes, and now to deal with your payment, Unfortunately for you, I can't chance that you will tell …" Naruto had heard enough, before Mizuki could finish his sentence, two of the clones threw a couple of shiruken at Mizuki while the other threw a kunai with an explosive tag strait up in the air." Mizuki just knocked away the shiruken with his own kunai, and threw a kunai at each Naruto. It didn't have the effect that Mizuki wanted though as all of them were shadow clones.

Before Mizuki could react, the real Naruto was behind him and impaled him with his sword. Mizuki just turned into a log though. Suddenly, Naruto felt a knife slide into his side. 'Damn, I couldn't rely on a clone to finish him off, I had to risk it, and now I'm dead.' Naruto thought bitterly as he fell to the ground. As Naruto rolled himself over to look at Mizuki's smiling face he had another thought. 'Who am I trying to convince, I knew I was going to die tonight. There was no way that they could get here in time to save me. I knew that this was going to happen. Oh well, the least I can do is try and take him with me.'

Mizuki was going to go for the killing blow when his hand was impaled by a kunai. Mizuki jumped back only to have Iruka occupy the space that he was standing in a moment before, only he was standing in a defensive stance. 'Shit!' Mizuki thought with a scowl. He didn't know if he could take Iruka, and even if he was sure that he could, it would take too long. He was sure that there wasn't anybody else here or they would be out here too, but it was only a matter of time. Mizuki got into a fighting stance as he quickly went over his options.

'I need a way out of here, now! Ok, ok, calm down.' Mizuki took a deep breath without taking his eyes off Iruka. 'Alright, I don't have time for a real fight, and he isn't going to just let me get away. And even if he does, it will only be a matter of time before the ANBU he sends after me will catch up to me. If I get rid of both of them, it will by me at the very least a day.' Mizuki smirked as he saw the way Iruka was guarding Naruto. Iruka just had a blank look on his face. They knew each other at that point, Mizuki was going to target Naruto because he was more valuable to Iruka than his own life, and Iruka would die for him. Iruka knew, and now Mizuki did too, and what made it worse was that Iruka knew Mizuki knew that he knew.

"Naruto, are you all right?" Iruka asked not taking his eyes off Mizuki. Naruto tried to talk, but he just coughed up blood. "Damn, you must have a punctured lung, don't talk. Just try and get out of the way." Iruka said with a distant tone. Naruto understood, Iruka was already fighting Mizuki, he had to distance himself from everything, and the only thing that could matter to him was killing Mizuki.

Mizuki knew this though, so he jumped back up into the trees and disappeared. Iruka waited a second, and jumped into the trees to the right, and all was silent. Naruto tried to move, but he couldn't really move to well. Even with the apparent healing abilities the demon had given him, he still was bleeding heavily, and it was still very hard to breath. Naruto hacked up what looked like a piece of his lung. 'Shit, Iruka saves me, and I'm going to die anyway.' Naruto thought with a sad smile on his face. He decided that his best shot was to just sit tight and wait for Iruka to kill the SOB.

Iruka was in a bad place right now. He knew Naruto needed to get to the hospital, and soon, even with the Kyubi he would still die. Mizuki knew this though, but he was pressed for time as well. But Mizuki wouldn't just let them live, his survival depended on them not giving him away and giving him a chance to get away as far as he could. But Mizuki decided to move first.

"Hey you little shit bag Naruto, are you still alive?" Mizuki yelled out from somewhere in the trees, Iruka couldn't tell were though. Naruto on the other hand was just sitting still and trying to stay calm, putting pressure on his side to try and by him self as much time as he could. "Have you ever wondered why everybody seems to hate you? Sure some of the ninja families haven't openly been hostile towards you like everyone else, but you have always been alone, haven't you?"

Iruka's eyes widened in shock, he now knew what Mizuki's plan was. Mizuki was going to try to get a rise out of him, and it was working. 'Damn it.' Iruka clenched his jaw, 'the bastards going to tell Naruto, what the hell is going to happen then? Wait, hold on Iruka, he wants this, he wants you to lose your cool.' Even as Iruka thought this he could still feel the tingling of panic in his mind.

Naruto had to admit, he was curious. Even though he was hurting, and was starting to feel light headed, he was suddenly alert. Naruto had long ago given up wondering why everyone seemed to go out of their way to be cruel to him. Though he wasn't stupid enough to think that it was normal, he decided that there was no use dwelling over either. So Naruto had just accepted it as part of the way things were, and moved on. But here he was, probably dying and a person willing to give him the information. No matter the intention behind it, he was still intrigued, and Mizuki could tell.

"I see you have noticed I knew you weren't a complete idiot. To put it simply, you are the nine tailed fox that attacked and killed a large number of people all of those years ago." Mizuki said with venom in his voice. Naruto was to say, shocked. Out of all of the reasons that he had imagined, this was not remotely close to any of them. Iruka was almost on the verge of tears as he remembered the day his parents never came home. The aftermath of the Kyubi's rampage, and knowing what had happened far before anyone had gotten around to telling him. Iruka's resolve hardened though when he remembered that Naruto was just the container and not an incarnate as many believed he was.

Naruto was in his own world of emotions he didn't know he had. "That's right you little shit, you are the reason that the fourth is dead, the reason that almost a third of our shinobi population was wiped out. The fourth had to give up his life just so that he could seal the beast within your worthless body." Mizuki said with hate evident. "Hell, you even killed Iruka's parents." Mizuki said with a now sadistic edge. Naruto didn't know what to think. He knew that Mizuki was certainly capable of lying, but there was to much raw emotion for it to not be true, besides, Naruto could feel the tension in the air. No doubt Iruka was hurting right now. Naruto would have laughed if he could, 'Holy shit, I really am a monster.' He thought with another sad smile. 'At least others will be safe if I die.'

"Now, I think now is the time to kill you monster." Mizuki yelled as he threw a giant windmill shiruken at Naruto. Naruto just sat there, not sure what to do, did he deserve it?

Iruka only had a second to decide, he could either take the advantage that Mizuki gave him, or save Naruto, which is exactly what Mizuki wanted. Iruka didn't have to think twice he moved as fast as he could and jumped in on top of Naruto shielding him as the giant shiruken impaled him. Naruto's eyes couldn't have gotten wider; Iruka just gave a soft true smile. "Don't listen to him Naruto, you are not the fox. But you do carry it inside you; it's not your fault. It's true that the fox killed my parents, but that wasn't you, you would never do that. You are a good person Naruto, even if you don't know it yet. I can see the good in you." Iruka coughed up blood. He was now kneeling over Naruto with Mizuki standing behind him allowing him to finish before he killed both of them. If you do happen to make it out of this alive, you had better earn it, earn every breath." Iruka gave Naruto a stern look to which Naruto just nodded at.

"Well, that's very touching Iruka, you forgiving the little monster and all. But I'm afraid that…" Mizuki was suddenly flat on the ground with a senbon needle in his neck. Naruto looked up and saw Kakashi with two full units of ANBU before he passed out.

Naruto woke up in an all too familiar place, the demons cage. 'Kyubi.' Naruto reminded himself. As Naruto got up and started down the dark dank halls, he idly wondered how long it would have taken him to figure it out. It made perfect sense he realized. People had always deliberately attacked and hunted him on his birthday. He had always assumed it was a sick joke, but now he knew better. Naruto suddenly found that he wasn't as afraid as he used to be, 'Probably just because I actually know what he is now, but I can't forget either.' Naruto knew that he could never let his guard down, that it was good to be afraid. Fear meant that he would keep is guard up; and he could never let his guard down around the most powerful demon of all time.

"_**So, I see you have been told the truth boy." **_The Kyubi said with a wicked smile as he revealed the rest of its massive body. Naruto shuddered at the sight, took a deep breath and made and kept eye contact with the monster.

"Yes, I was told." Naruto said with a bit of worry in his voice. It was clear to him that the Kyubi was very intelligent despite its actions, so there was probably a reason why it had chosen to keep its identity a secret. "Out of curiosity, I would like to know what I have to do to keep my part of the deal with you. You never told me what I have to do." Naruto said nervously. It was true ever since the deal was made, it was never spoken of again, and it worried Naruto a lot now. In someway he was bound to the nine tails, and he didn't even know how, this was bad. There was a deep rumbling that Naruto took as the monster chuckling.

"_**All good things come to those who wait. You do not have the ability to give me what I desire yet anyway, so it is of little conscience at the moment. But there is something that I want to know," **_said the great beast with another nightmare grin. _**"Tell me, little Uzumaki, what will you do now that you know most of what you are?" **_

Naruto paused, it was a good question. 'Well, does this change anything? Obviously the Hokage and Kakashi know of this, actually, a lot of people probably already know if Iruka did.'

The Kyubi watched silently as Naruto put the pieces together, and listened in on his little conversation going on. The Kyubi was impressed; the boy was smarter than most gave him credit for. But what he really wanted to find out was how Naruto was going to react to this new found knowledge. If it broke him, he would be forced to give him power earlier than he had planed to.

"I suppose it doesn't change anything. If Iruka knew, and judging by what Mizuki said, then most of the village knows already. So this doesn't really matter. I guess that I will just keep doing what I'm doing for the moment, as no other opportunities have presented themselves yet." Naruto finished with a shrug. He honestly didn't know how to feel about it at all.

"_**Very well, until next time my little prison guard." **_ The Kyubi said with a laugh as Naruto slowly fell into a troubled sleep. Troubled because he had just realized that all the Kyubi had to do was get through him to be unleashed, and it was his responsibility to keep him in check.

XXXXXXXX

**First, let me apologize for how long it took me to get this out. And not all that much happened in this one anyway, but it had to be written. Next time Naruto will meet his team. And the bell test! Ill give a cookie to anyone who can guess as to how that's going to end! Lol Oh, and I will try to have the next one out in less than a week, so please doesn't abandon my story!**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Ok, before you read this, keep in mind that this story isn't about Sakura bashing. She will come into her own eventually, as soon as she gets a little wiser any way. If you want more details, just e-mail me or something.**_

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

**Chapter 10:**

Naruto was awake, but he didn't open his eyes. He had learned that the best way to avoid drawing attention to yourself in these situations was to make people believe you were still asleep. Before he did anything else, Naruto reached out with his senses and knew that there were two people in the room, and he was in the hospital. Naruto opened his eyes and wasn't surprised to see the Hokage and Kakashi.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow when he saw that Naruto was awake, though he was pretending to be asleep. He could tell by the slight killing intent that always seemed to radiate off Naruto. Both he and the Hokage noted that even though Naruto had just woken up, and he was obviously trying to gauge danger level and counter it if possible, he was calm. And it wasn't that he was just keeping his cool either. Naruto's average heart rate was forty-five beats a minute, it didn't change. In fact, Naruto was hooked up to a lot of equipment that in turn showed up on a number of monitors next to his bed, none of them read out that he was in any way stressed out.

Kakashi just shook his head as he looked at the Hokage who had noted the same thing. 'The machines can not read Naruto correctly; they were designed to react to the stress of normal people, not monsters like Naruto.' Kakashi and the Hokage visibly winced at the thought, apparently they were thinking along the same lines as each other. Then Naruto opened his eyes.

"So, I guess that I'm alive?" Naruto asked in an almost comical tone as if he didn't believe it. The Hokage gave him a warm smile and nodded.

"It was close, but you will actually be out of here by tomorrow morning. Just in time too, because of the shadow clone, which was a very nice touch by the way, you technically pass, so you're a genin now." The Hokage finished with a smile as Naruto was now slack jawed in his bed. Naruto just sighed and closed his eyes.

It wasn't all that hard to pull off. Naruto didn't have the real scroll; he had actually a blank one. In fact, the Hokage and Kakashi were the only ones that knew of it. When it was brought up about how to get Mizuki to buy that it was the real scroll without him opening it, Naruto proposed that he just show him something that could only come from the scroll itself. The idea wasn't so completely foreign to Naruto, it made sense to him. It was just like when Naruto saw someone buy drugs, or watched some kind of deal go down. You just needed to show a sample and the other party usually assumed that the rest of the goods were there.

Kakashi let a smile slip. At the moment, Naruto looked like a normal boy who had gotten a present. The smile disappeared however as Naruto's face got a serious look to it.

"I spoke to the Kyubi last night." Naruto stated with a blank stare. Both the Hokage and Kakashi froze up for a second, no matter how they had tried, they couldn't prepare for this. "We didn't speak long, but I want to know, why didn't you tell me after I signed the contract?"

Naruto was unnerving right now, he didn't seem mad at all. Sarutobi took a deep breath, "we didn't tell you because we didn't know if it would like it or not. There was a reason that it kept its identity hidden, and we didn't want to piss it off." He said with sincere honesty. Naruto studied him for a moment and nodded.

"So, how long have you known?" Naruto asked hoping to get some insight on as to why his whole life was predestined to be hell, or if it was just chance. The Hokage nodded to Kakashi allowing him to tell Naruto. Kakashi took a deep breath and adopted a sad face.

"Well, we've known your whole life. If your wondering as to if it was just chance, it wasn't." Naruto's eye brow rose at this. "You were chosen personally by the fourth for a couple of reasons. We can't go into them right now, perhaps when you're older, but what I can tell you is that among the reasons you were chosen, one of them was that he was sure that you could take it." Kakashi said this looking Naruto strait in the eye. He wasn't lying either, it was true. You had to be careful when dealing with Naruto, he was practically a human lie detector, he needed to be told the truth, or half truths. Obviously this hurt Naruto as often as it helped him, but in Naruto's eyes it was worth the trade off. Naruto had never had any actual friends, so he never got the concept that people needed to keep secrets, and you needed to be okay with it. In Naruto's world, you had secrets for a reason, and you either openly shared them, or took them to the grave with you. There was no drama bullshit about letting on to the fact that you did have a secret. That was just asking to be tortured.

Naruto's chest swelled slightly in pride before he winced in pain. He would probably never admit it to anyone else, but he was proud. He admired the Fourth Hokage for a great many things, but not the all of the same reasons that everybody else did. Unlike everybody else, he wasn't obsessed with the whole Kyubi thing alone, though he did see it in a new light now. Taking away that the fourth was powerful enough to seal the Kyubi; a lot of people sacrificed themselves that night, what made him so special? Instead, he admired the fourth for the other things he had done. Mostly it was his actions in the last great ninja war. He read of the fourth's legendary flying thunder god technique, him being able to slaughter entire armies with it. While he was sure it was being made a spectacle of, he was also sure that most of it was hidden behind truths. And historical facts did not usually lie. Well, not when you looked them up from as many different sources as Naruto did. The point being, that Naruto was very proud and excited that the fourth had not only known who he was, but apparently thought that he was tough enough to handle the Kyubi.

Kakashi and Sarutobi watched all of this in silence, not really sure of what to do or say. Kakashi for once was thankful for Naruto's social stupidity. If Naruto was a little more socially adept, he might find it strange that the fourth Hokage was apparently ok with sealing the Kyubi in a totally random baby. And the fact that Naruto grew up in the worst possible of conditions practically no help from anyone, even though he now knew that they had always know about the Kyubi, and what could happen if it was ever released. Apparently, it all made sense to Naruto. Kakashi just shook his head, 'we've got a long way to go.' He thought to himself.

Naruto stayed in a blank and thoughtful stupor for a few more minutes while the Hokage and Kakashi waited patently until suddenly Naruto's face got panicky for a second.

"Is Iruka alive?" Naruto asked sounding scared. Kakashi nodded with an eye smile, happy to see that Naruto cared. "Yes, he will be in the hospital for a while, but he will make a full recovery." Naruto sighed in relief.

"What about Mizuki? I remember a needle in his neck so I assume that he is still alive. If he still is, can I execute him?" Naruto asked with a little bit of giddiness in his voice. 'He probably already has it planned out.' The Hokage thought.

"I'll pass it along, but I doubt it. Mizuki is a ninja, and we have to follow protocol." Sarutobi said with honesty. Actually, Sarutobi would be ok with it if Naruto did kill Mizuki. He very much disliked Mizuki, and Naruto gets to fulfill his need for a little while. But it was true; they did indeed need to follow protocol. Naruto just gave a shrug. Most people would have hated Mizuki, well Naruto did but in a different way. Naruto had been dealing with assholes like Mizuki his whole life, and nothing that he said or did was anything special, not really anyway. Naruto understood that while Mizuki was telling the truth, all he was trying to do was hurt Naruto, and that was already familiar and boring to him.

"So, what now?" Naruto asked getting strait to the point. The Hokage cleared his throat.

"Well now, you come by my office as soon as you're healed to get your forehead protector and be officially sworn in as a leaf shinobi. Naruto gave an honest smile at this.

**(Ill go into the whole Konohamaru thing with a flashback later on.)**

Naruto had just finished a shower and was sporting a brand new scar right between his third and fourth rib on his right side. Like all of his other scars it wasn't very big. In fact this one was hardly noticeable. Ever since he had signed the contract with the Kyubi his healing powers had steadily increased and it was harder for him to get scars that lasted. But right now that wasn't what Naruto was thinking, he was confused.

First thing was Naruto was not used to feeling this many emotions, in fact Naruto wasn't used to feeling much at all. But ever since that day he failed the exam, he started to feel other emotions that he still couldn't identify. For the first time in his life he wanted friends, he wanted what normal kids had with each other, he wanted companionship. Actually, Naruto had wanted these things his whole life, he just didn't know it; this just happened to be the first time that he was consciously aware of it though.

All of those emotions running through him, the idea of letting other people in, of truly exposing himself to someone, of taking the risk of getting truly hurt. Naruto wasn't afraid or ashamed to admit that it scared the shit out of him. As Naruto examined himself in the mirror of his bathroom, examined the scars that were too many to count, he started thinking. All of it was evidence of a life that he didn't regret. Every single person that he killed, he enjoyed it, and wasn't sorry for any of it. But what bothered and scared him was the thought that no one would want to get to know someone like him. That if he actually did start letting someone in and telling them about the real him, that no one would want to be around him anyway. All in all, Naruto was afraid of being alone for the rest of his life. Naruto's gaze drifted back up, over his scared neck, over his deadly looking mouth, and into his dangerous looking eyes. "Who am I? Who and what can I become?" Naruto asked himself out loud with a solemn look.

Over the last couple of years Naruto had gathered a decent amount of money. Growing up the way he did, he was smart with all of it and kept it safe. The Hokage opened up a bank account in his name, so instead of moving to a bigger and better apartment, he just saved it all. Naruto did however, gradually though, buy the rest of the armored plates that fit into his shirt and pants. He still wore his old regular forest green cloak, though it was a little too small for him now.

Naruto was currently back in his apartment trying to decide if he should finally start wearing his 'combat ready' trench coat, that was pretty much a one piece plate armor anyway, on a regular basis. He decided to go with it as he was finally going to start needing it soon. Looking at himself in the mirror, wearing everything with his sword strapped on, he just smiled as he put on his forehead protector. He finally looked the part that he was meant to be. He knew it would still be a couple of months before the real missions came in, but he was still excited. All he had to get through now was the last day of being in the academy as he was waiting to be assigned to a team. At that thought Naruto frowned. He really didn't want to be stuck with other kids his age; they all pissed him off by just being around him. 'Well, I guess it wouldn't be so bad if I was teamed up with Sasuke, he's not bad, and at least he takes this seriously. And I guess Hinata isn't so bad either.' While Naruto and Hinata didn't talk a lot, as Hinata was still very shy around him and prone to fainting, she was probably the one person that he was totally fine with being around. Something just soothed and calmed him down whenever he was in her presence.

As Naruto thought about this, another thought came to him about a promise he had made to himself. 'But still, whoever I am teamed up with, they will be my team, and will be until I can make and qualify for ANBU. And besides, I promised myself that I would at least try to make friends. And what's more, I owe it to Iruka to try and better myself, at least after what he did for me.'

Naruto was standing outside the academy gaits, and getting some strange looks too. It was clear that he wasn't entirely welcome here, not that that was much of a surprise to him. But something was different today; he was actually getting nods from some of the parents from ninja clans. The only reason that he could guess as to why, was that news of his recent actions had gotten around in certain circles. Naruto just returned these nice gestures with nods of his own. This in turn got him even more looks of bewilderment, and for the first time, Naruto felt a little self conscious. Naruto took a deep breath and started to his classroom.

As Naruto walked in, everyone got quiet. Naruto didn't bother to look around. Instead he walked over to Hinata and took his usual seat next to her.

"H-hello Naruto-kun, I see that y-you have an f-forehead protector, d-did you pass t-the exam a-after all?" Hinata asked in her usual shy and soft voice while she was doing her finger thing. The whole class got quiet again and Naruto just sighed as he knew that everyone was going to listen in on this conversation.

"Ya, I got another shot. But it's a long story and I'd rather not go into it right now, but maybe another time, ok?" Naruto said with an honest smile to which Hinata just blushed deeply and nodded. Naruto also head an audible groan from the entire class. 'You're going to have to get your gossip somewhere else.' Naruto thought with a smirk.

After a couple of minutes an unfamiliar instructor walked in. Naruto was relieved as the stares and whispers stopped and he was all but forgotten.

"Alright, Iruka was unfortunately not able to be here to congratulate you again and assign you to your new instructors and teams, so I will be doing it today. Alright, team one will consist of…" Naruto just kind of tuned him out until he heard his name being called. As he took a glance at the rest of the class, he caught a glimpse of Kiba with an interested look on his face. 'Scratch that, I really hope that I don't have to put up with him for the next however many years.' Naruto thought glumly.

"Team seven will consist of Sasuke Uchiha,"

This caught Naruto's attention as Sasuke was probably the only one in the class that could give him a real challenge. 'Remember Naruto, that's a probably. If I were part of a ninja clan I wouldn't want my clan's unique techniques being shown off and given away by children.' Naruto thought to himself. Naruto was incorporating another lesson that he learned growing up, the lesson being that it was very wise to keep whatever advantages you had a secret so they could actually be used as advantages, and not give your opponent a chance to prepare for it. Also Naruto knew that anybody could in fact kill anybody at any time. All that you really could do was become stronger to improve your chances of survival.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto and Sasuke nodded at each other, both apparently ok with the paring. "And," Naruto heard an audible intake of breath from almost every female in the room. At this both Naruto and Sasuke took a nervous glance at each other, and then at Ino, both apparently again thinking along the same lines as each other. "Sakura Haruno." The instructor finished with a smirk after a moment to build the tension and make the whole thing a bit more dramatic. There was a moment of silence before the screaming and groaning started.

"YES! TRUE LOVE PREVAILS!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs. Sakura did catch a horrified look on Sasuke's face, but she ignored it and passed it off to Ino who was now screaming something about Sakura rigging the placements. Sakura did however take a nervous glance at Naruto; he could be a problem to her. At first Sakura had just been pissed off after he had hit her on the first day, but that soon changed to fear. After Naruto had openly admitted to killing that kids brother in their first year, rumors started spreading. And what was worse was that it was usually the parents who started the rumors.

Sakura was an intelligent girl, and she knew it. She knew that almost all rumors were full of shit. But statistically, some of them had to be at least somewhat true, or at least based on truths. To add to that was the fact that adults were taking part in it as well, that only increased the probability that Naruto was in fact a monster. But the icing on the cake came when she asked her mother about Naruto. Sakura would never forget that day; her mother had looked truly frightened. Her mother was a civilian, and therefore unable to truly defend herself. She had told Sakura that Naruto himself was one of the main reasons she had enrolled Sakura in the ninja academy, she told her that she believed Sakura would have to become stronger if there was someone like that around.

Sakura had taken that conversation to heart and avoided Naruto at all costs. She had even told her rival Ino to watch out for him and stay out of his way. These fears only intensified as Naruto answered questions that no one really wanted to hear the answers to. She did believe it when Naruto said it as well. She believed that whatever else Naruto may be, he was not a liar. And when he said that he killed people, and he liked it, she believed him.

All of these things were going through her head as she just sat in a contemplative state. 'I don't care; it's worth it to be with Sasuke. And besides, it's not if we're going to be alone, we will have a Jonin instructor with us at all times.' Sakura thought to herself with new found determination. But still, the idea of being teamed up with Naruto was still scary.

Naruto was disappointed to say the least; he was hoping to have Hinata on his team. As now he would hardly ever get to see her, not that he spent a lot of time with her anyway. But she was the only one that he could imagine spending time with outside of ninja stuff. Then Naruto realized that he would like to be her friend. Naruto turned to look at Hinata to just ask her point blank as he had no idea on how to make friends anyway, but she wasn't sitting there. He looked up to the front of the class room and saw her standing with Inuzuka boy and the very quiet kid with sun glasses, and a woman with red eyes who he assumed was their Jonin instructor.

When Naruto made eye contact with Hinata, he gave an apologetic look. Hinata was blushing as usual but she also had a small smile on her face. What Naruto didn't know was that Hinata was very pleased that it appeared that Naruto thought enough of her to at least want to be on the same team as her. However, Kiba caught it and looked back and forth between Hinata and Naruto a couple times before smiling. He walked up to an already blushing Hinata and put his arm around her looking straight at Naruto. Naruto's killing intent spiked putting almost everyone in the room on edge. While Kiba was trying not to look intimidated, their Jonin instructor quickly guided them outside.

Xxxxxxxx

It had been almost three hours, and they were the only three left in the room. Sasuke was busy somehow managing to have both a dark brooding look and a miserable look on his face as Sakura never stopped trying to talk to him. Naruto had thought briefly of trying to strike up a conversation, but decided against it as he wasn't yet ready to talk to Sakura. And besides, he was pissed off. Naruto took out a kunai and twirled it around his finger in apprehension. This had an imitate effect on Sakura. She shut up and gave a worried look at Naruto. Naruto just smirked, he loved making people feel uncomfortable, and he was good at it too. Something else that Naruto smirked at was that Sasuke also had a smirk on his face. 'Hm, maybe we do have something else in common besides being good fighters; Naruto thought pleasantly. That would make things much easier.

Naruto did have a problem with Sakura though. As much as he wanted to at least try to become at least some semblance of a friend, he couldn't stand her. All he had to do was look at her and he would get a headache. Then Naruto smiled at a thought, 'she needs to wise up and mature a little. And no better way to do that than watching people killed or better yet, killing them yourself.' Naruto wasn't too far off either. He just decided to put his relationship with Sakura on hold until she had seen death and matured a little bit. Though a big part of Naruto was hoping that she would die before he had to try to deal with her.

It was almost three hours exactly now and all three of them were pissed. Sakura for the first ever was not afraid of Naruto being mad, at least because it wasn't directed at her. Sasuke had adopted a sleeping pose to get Sakura to stop trying to ask him out. Naruto knew he was awake though. If he concentrated hard enough, he could hear Sasuke breathing like he was agitated, that is, short harsh, aggressive breaths. So unless he was having a dream that was pissing him off, he was awake.

Suddenly the door opened and Naruto reacted by throwing his kunai as hard as he could at whoever was there, consciences be damned. They all saw someone stick their head in and just as quickly pull it back out as the kunai buried itself in the door frame.

"Ok, I guess I might be a little late, but was that really warranted?" Kakashi said with his weird eye smile at Naruto.

"What the fuck?! You're our Jonin instructor?" Naruto asked his shock obvious. Kakashi just nodded his head and looked at the other two kids.

"Hm, well I guess it could have been worse, I get a raving fan girl, a brooding emo, and" at this point all three of them were pissed off, and Naruto was fingering another kunai in warning. "a homicidal midget." Suddenly a kunai was imbedded in his chest, but before Sakura could start screaming, he poofed into a note that was subsequently pinned to the wall. 'Meet me on the roof in five minutes.' The note was also complete with a drawing of comical form of Kakashi flipping off a tied up Naruto, who also happened to be very small.

Sasuke just laughed at Naruto's expense, and Sakura was trying to suppress a giggle. Naruto glared at the two, but after a moment of thought, decided to let it go. With a sigh Naruto collected his kunai and left for the stairs with the other two members of his team, both of whom were in a mild form of shock that Naruto didn't do something in retaliation.

On the roof a few minutes later, all three of them were sitting in their respective spots wondering if they were going to have to wait another few hours. Then he popped into existence with a poof of smoke. The only one of them that didn't react or get startled was Naruto who was expecting something like this.

"Ok well, I suppose we should get started." Kakashi said in a bored manor as he put away an orange book. At the same time Kakashi gave a nod to Naruto who simply returned it out of habit, the earlier offence already forgotten. This was not so uncommon. Part of Kakashi's plan to 'indoctrinate' Naruto into society was to get him to not only be able to take and be ok with a joke, but also to learn to play them on people without truly hurting or just killing them at the same time. Kakashi had learned that Naruto didn't distinguish between a practical joke, and an actual trap meant to kill you the hard way. If Kakashi didn't have the reaction time that he had, he would have been dead.

'I am going to have to ask him how he managed to get that giant spider in my apartment some day.' Kakashi thought to himself with a mental sigh.

"Well, why don't we get to know each other, tell about your selves and all." Kakashi said with a slightly lifted tone in his disinterested way as if he had come up with a failsafe plan.

"Well, why don't you go first, that way we know what to say?" Sakura said. She honestly didn't know what he wanted to know and she wanted to make a good impression on her instructor.

Kakashi just shrugged, "my name is Kakashi Hatake, I have various likes and dislikes, I have a few hobbies, and my dreams and ambitions for the future, well, I don't feel like telling you that." Kakashi finished with a yawn. This had various reactions, Sasuke and Sakura were both clearly annoyed, and Naruto somehow had an amused and annoyed look on his face. 'I guess it's also in his genes to find new ways to use facial muscles to make brand new expressions.' Kakashi thought with another mental sigh. "When you do it, make sure you add something about why you 'truly' chose this path, the reason behind the reason. Alright, you go first pinky." Kakashi said in an offhand way. By the look on Sakura's face, and the size of the tic mark on her forehead, she was defiantly pissed.

Sakura kept her cool though, with a deep breath she started. "My name is Sakura Haruno, I like Sasuke-kun," she cast a sidelong glance at Sasuke who just shuddered. "I really despise N…" Sakura was half way to looking at Naruto before she realized what she had almost done.

Her eyes were wide as she caught a genuine death glare and killing intent from Naruto. Naruto would try to get along, but he would only put up with so much. And there was no point in trying on a girl that despised him anyway.

"I uh, never mind," she said turning back to Kakashi who to most people seemed indifferent. But he was actually ready to grab Naruto incase he decided to rip her tongue out for insulting him. "And my dream for the future is to marry the man I love." Sakura said with a blush looking back at Sasuke who had a horrified look and audibly groaned. Naruto coughed which sounded suspiciously like a disguised laugh. Sakura paid none of this any heed though. "And I chose to become a ninja because I want to be closer to Sasuke." She said with a smile. What Sakura didn't notice was a look of absolute disgust from Naruto, the only reason the same look wasn't on Sasuke's face was because he had not yet realized what this meant, and how much of a risk Sakura would be. While Kakashi didn't express it openly, he actually agreed with Naruto in this. 'Oh well, just one more thing to talk about after they are all tied up.' Kakashi thought as he filed it away for later.

Kakashi nodded and motioned Sasuke to start. Sasuke didn't hesitate and just started. "I don't like very many things; I hate a lot of things. My ambition is to kill a certain someone." Sasuke said all of this in dark manor, while apparently the idea that Sasuke was devoting his life to kill someone seemed bad to Sakura, Naruto just had a smirk on his face while he studied Sasuke intently. "And I guess the reason that I want to become a ninja is to get power."

Naruto was now looking intently at Sasuke with a serious and yet interested look on his face. 'I knew it; he's a lot like me. Not in the same way, but still. He defiantly has the hate, a different kind than mine, but it's there.' Naruto was honestly excited about this, apparently you needed to something in common with someone to become a friend, and hate seemed as good of a thing as anything for Naruto.

"Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he was waiting for Naruto to snap out of whatever thoughts he was having about Sasuke.

"Oh, sorry, is it my turn?"

Kakashi just nodded. Kakashi knew what Naruto was going to say, mostly anyway. But it was important that the rest of the team get a better understanding of Naruto right away. Even if it scared them and ruined Naruto's chances at friendship, this wasn't just about him, this was a team, and being on a team was something Naruto was going to have to learn if he wanted to become a ninja.

"Well, I like ramen, fighting, and killing people." Naruto added with a smile, happy that he was doing well so far. "Um, I hate most people and I especially hate spoiled kids that don't appreciate what they have. My dream is to make ANBU because they are the elite, and I also want to kill a lot people, and…" Naruto stopped and adopted a confused look. 'What is the reason behind the reason of me becoming a ninja?' Naruto thought to himself. He had never given any of that any kind of thought before, it didn't really matter all that much anyway, at least to him. Naruto's face became a furrow of concentration as he dived into his own subconscious to try and figure himself out.

Naruto was silent for almost a full minute. Sasuke looked genuinely interested, and when Sakura was going to interrupt him she was silenced by a deadly look from Kakashi. Kakashi knew that Naruto really needed to figure this out and know this; at least he would later on.

Naruto started off softly, but finished with conviction. "I guess the real reason I want to become a ninja is so that I can become so powerful and strong that no one can ever hurt me again." Naruto said looking back up at Kakashi who just nodded.

"Alright, that's enough of that for today. All of you are to meet up at training ground seven tomorrow morning at six a.m. sharp. Oh, and don't eat anything tomorrow morning either." And with that Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Sasuke was the first to leave as he wanted to get as far away from Sakura as possible. Sakura left next surprisingly in the opposite direction that Sasuke did.

'I don't get it; I just don't know what to think anymore.' Sakura thought to herself as she walked home in deep thought. 'I know deep down Sasuke is a good person, he can be saved. There is something to work with, something to help get better. Or at least something to save after he has killed whoever it is he wants too. But Naruto seems to want to kill people just because he enjoys killing people. But again, that thing at the end, for a moment he almost sounded, lonely. What the hell is he?' Sakura was on her way to developing a migraine as she was thinking about her two new team mates.

Sasuke, while interested in Naruto a little, put it out of his mind as he left to train. Naruto had almost the exact same thoughts about Sasuke. Because Naruto did not yet realize what he had discovered about himself, he just put it out of his mind, and he just preferred to not think about Sakura. It was going to be hard enough not killing her without him thinking about her when she wasn't around.

Kakashi had just handed over his report to the Hokage and was waiting, patiently for once, while he read it. The report detailed the psychological state of this possible new team.

"So," Sarutobi said as he closed the report and looked back at Kakashi. "That's the official report that will go in their files, what your personal take on it?" Kakashi sighed.

"Well, I got just about what I expected from Sasuke. And I do believe that if Naruto does get 'better' they could be positive influences on each other." Kakashi stressed the 'better' part because they both knew that there was no curing what Naruto had, they could only try and help him become more sociable, and the rest was up to him. "Naruto on the other hand, well you read the report, it's an accurate description. Whatever else was said, I believe we finally have legitimate proof of progress." Kakashi said with a smile. The Hokage just nodded at this with a smile of his own.

"Well, that's it for today Kakashi." Kakashi just nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

A few hours later, in some deep dark lair, Danzo was reading that same report with interest. Plotting and scheming plans that were now long in the making.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**That's it for now. I have been told that the last chapter kind of sucked so I hope this one was better. Oh ya, I know that I said the bell test would be in this chapter, but it just got away from me. Before I knew it I was already at five-thousand words. And besides, I figured that you guys would like an update anyway.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**It has come to my attention that my grammar is shitty. My apologies, and I assure you that I am trying to make it better. However, I would rather not be reminded about it constantly, as much as I enjoy reading reviews, it still gets annoying. Rest assured, I am aware of it, and I am trying to get better.**_

**Chapter 11.**

Naruto, advice aside, had chosen to just eat breakfast anyway. Naruto didn't know whether or not he was going to throw it up, but he had more food right now than he had ever had in his whole life, and he wasn't about to waist any of it. Naruto knew what real hunger felt like and he would be damned if he ever purposefully starved himself. Sasuke and Sakura however were in a different situation. Neither had eaten breakfast and Sakura had even skipped dinner for some stupid reason that Naruto couldn't comprehend. It was now almost nine, and conversation had been limited, even Sakura hadn't bothered Sasuke all that much, thankfully, being too hungry to care at the moment.

It was now almost nine and still no sign from Kakashi. All three of them were plotting various acts of vengeance, but even Naruto wasn't stupid enough to try something like that on the first day. But that didn't mean that he couldn't get Kakashi back later on after it was official that he was on a team. Naruto knew that something was up; they hadn't signed anything that stated that they were part of a squad. Squads tended to consist of elite members that worked very well together. Naruto had read all of this in a field manual given to him when he was sworn in, he was also sure that almost no one else had read it. Naruto knew that the few actual official squads that were put together were made for specific reasons, but what this one was made for still eluded Naruto.

At nine o'clock on the dot, or Naruto at least assumed it was, Kakashi finally made an appearance. It was the standard show up in a small cloud of smoke and attempt to startle everyone. The only one out of the group that seemed startled was Sakura though.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura screamed. Kakashi just did his patented shoulder shrug and eye smile technique.

"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life." Kakashi said in an almost serious manner. Sakura face faulted, Sasuke got a tick mark on his forehead and Naruto just rolled his eyes.

"Ok well, I suppose that we should get started with the final exam." Kakashi said with a sigh as it was apparently a hassle to him. This caused some eye brows to rise. Kakashi just looked around. Sasuke and Sakura had similar looks of confused concern on their faces, but Naruto looked like something had just been confirmed for him. 'I guess he was expecting something like this after all.' Kakashi thought offhandedly.

"Um, Kakashi sensei, we already had our final exam; we all passed a few days ago." Sakura said hopefully as if she was trying to talk him out of something.

"True," Kakashi started raising a finger in a teaching pose, "you did pass the academy Genin exam. But you haven't passed my exam. As far as the actual Jonin instructors are concerned, that exam is only to see if you're ready to take our tests. Basically, it's time to see if you have the capability to actually become a ninja." Kakashi finished with a hand gesture indicating to all of them to move to a spot about ten feet away from him. When they did, he started again.

"All right, here's the deal." Kakashi said as he pulled out two bells to show them as he tied them to his hip on strings. "you each have until noon to get a bell, if you don't have one by then you will be sent back to the academy." Kakashi said with a smile. All of them were shocked and it showed on their faces. But Naruto's face soon turned to joy as he saw this as a chance to get rid of Sakura. Kakashi smirked to himself under his mask, 'this is always the fun part.' Not giving them any time to run this information over, he just started it. "Alright, GO!"

Two hours later all three of them were tied up to the poles watching Kakashi eat. Even Naruto was feeling it by now, especially given the beat down that all three of them had taken.

"Ok," Kakashi said as he finished his lunch. All three of them were also wondering how he had managed to eat without taking off his mask. "I need to take a piss, so while I'm gone I want you all to talk over a couple of things." Kakashi said as he smirked at the blush on Sakura's face. "First of all, what did you do to get the bells, and why didn't it work? Second, what could you have done better, and would you go with an entirely new strategy? And last of all…" Kakashi said his voice now serious and eyes narrowed, "what was the purpose of this exercise, and why does it matter? Oh, and by the way, If you don't come up with the right answers you fail anyway." Kakashi said as he walked away getting almost panicked looks from all three of them.

They were all silent for a moment. Sakura, being the most logical, and the one that was the least bit pissed off started first with a deep breath.

"All right, we might as well try and figure this out." She said trying to sound confident but failed at it. Sasuke, who had been humiliated being buried up to his neck for most of the time started first. He was absolutely certain that it wasn't his fault.

"I'm sure I did something wrong as I'm here with you losers, but I do know what Naruto did wrong." he said glaring at Naruto. In Sasuke's defense, Naruto did kind of put Kakashi in a bad mood that may have caused him to humiliate Sasuke more than necessary. But still, this was no excuse as it had almost no relevance and refection on Naruto's performance other than showing how frustrated he had been.

But right now Naruto wasn't thinking about these things, he was pissed off, and had been humiliated as well. He was just happy that neither Sasuke nor Sakura had been there to witness it. That is, witnesses Naruto get the enema from hell. So, at the moment Naruto was glaring at Sasuke.

"Oh ya, what about you show off?" Naruto at this point adopting a deep mocking tone, "I am an all powerful Uchiha, I will use flashy techniques that were invented for shock value that any Chunin can dodge, I can use them on an elite Jonin though and expect to beat him, I can use up all of my chakra in the first hour of a three hour exam, I can be a total douche." Naruto said, though he ended it without any trace of humor, he was actually pissed. Sasuke just glared back at Naruto.

"So what?! Maybe it wouldn't have come to that if 'someone' hadn't called the author of his ero books a fag." Sasuke said with just as much venom in his voice.

Sakura was tired of them bickering. She as well had been humiliated in her own right. She was smart, and therefore she had been notoriously hard to catch in a genjutu in the academy, but that was the way Kakashi had got her, and she had been knocked unconscious without giving a fight at all. As a result, her alter ego was starting to affect her and at the moment, she wasn't obsessed with Sasuke, or afraid of Naruto.

"SHUT UP! I AM NOT ABOUT TO FAIL THIS BECAUSE YOU TWO TOOK UP ALL OF OUR TIME BITCHING AT EACH OTHER!" Sakura screamed at them. As a result both Naruto and Sasuke were slack jawed. Not only had Sakura openly chastised Sasuke, but she appeared to not be afraid of Naruto and this was the first time either of them had heard her curse.

"So, who wants to go first? We might as well try to figure this out." Sakura said with a sigh. Both of the boys looked at each other and realized that she was right, and so, the three of them took the next half hour talking it over.

While Kakashi hadn't lied about having to piss, it obviously didn't take him a half hour to do it. Instead, he had spent the time reading. Like all the other hopeful teams over the last couple of years, ever since he had gotten out of ANBU, he had left them completely alone to talk. He didn't even listen in; this was the most important part of the test. The ass kicking he had given them all earlier was mainly just to humble them a little, especially the Uchiha. Unlike Naruto, who knew that he had a very long way to go before he got close to where he wanted to be. Sasuke wanted some kind of shortcut and thought that he was entitled to it or something.

Kakashi sighed, he had given them as much time as they should need, and it was either they come together, or this would break them. As Kakashi walked into visible range of them, he saw that Naruto and Sasuke were talking in what seemed to be a friendly, or at least a normal conversation. Kakashi sighed, 'well at the very least those two may become friends and have each other if I have to send them back.' Kakashi thought as he approached them. He caught the very end of the conversation between Sasuke and Naruto, and apparently Naruto was telling them about some of the hunting trips he had done in the Forest of Death.

After Naruto felt comfortable enough, he had started going back into the forest. He actually had a good thing going for him as it was Naruto's main source of income. After a little while of bringing back pelts and skins from animals that obviously came from deep within the forest, word got out. And soon Naruto got a reputation for being a retrieval expert. Naruto collected everything from flowers and herbs, to skinned hides from some giant lizards. And because the forest was so dangerous, very few were willing to go in there willingly on a regular basis. This meant that Naruto could pretty much charge whatever he wanted. At the moment, he was talking about how the very nice scaled jackets that were sold in the rich district were actually provided by him, though he didn't have near enough the skill to make them himself. Sasuke seemed to actually believe him, but Sakura was having a hard time believing him, but she was coming around.

"Ok, time to give me answers," Kakashi said in an all business tone. "Tell me what you've learned about yourselves." Though they seemed nervous, they also appeared to have answers.

Naruto started with a deep breath.

"well, to get the bells, I went with the setting up traps and attacking hard and fast, and then getting out fast, more or less I went with guerilla war strategy. And the reason it didn't work was because you were just too fast for me, I couldn't keep up with you. Honestly, if given another chance, I wouldn't know how to do it differently. I went with that strategy because it had the best chance of working." Kakashi nodded as that about summed it up. Next Kakashi turned his attention to Sasuke. Sasuke just started without delay.

"I went with a strategy that consisted of using big and more powerful jutsus in the hope that they would overwhelm you. It didn't work because you are too experienced to be affected or caught in them. Another reason that I did it was because it's really the only strategy that I know how to use effectively." Kakashi nodded again, as that was all true. Though Kakashi didn't show it, he was happy that Sasuke was ok with acknowledging his faults. He also suspected that he had picked this up from Naruto. As Sasuke respected Naruto, it made sense that he would learn some things from him. Sakura was up next, and with a sigh she started.

"I basically didn't have a strategy and that's why I was the first to get knocked out. I was so worried about Sasuke that I didn't even think about making an attempt at the bells. And I'm guessing that that's the reason you went after me so soon. If I could do it again, I would try and make an attempt at the bells, though it wouldn't have mattered." Sakura said her head dropping a little at the last part. Kakashi sighed, that was indeed a problem. Though comparing yourself to either Sasuke or Naruto was usually embarrassing to the other kids their age, let alone both of them together. Kakashi nodded and indicated them to continue. All three of them just looked at each other nervously. And Naruto took the lead.

"Well, honestly we tried, but we couldn't come up with a definite answer. The best we could come up with was that you were trying to teach us how to become better shinobi and how to think on the fly." Naruto said with a pleading expression while similar expressions were on the other two. Kakashi didn't show it, but he was mildly impressed. He didn't expect the right answer, but they were going in the same direction. "Nope, I was 'teaching' you failure." There was a moment of silence followed by bewildered looks on all three faces, and before they could start, Kakashi held up his hand silencing them.

"Think about it, none of you are actually on a team yet. In fact, out of the ten or twelve teams that were formed, two, maybe three of them will continue and actually form a team. In fact, last year there was only one group that made the cut. So, until we determine that you are qualified, you are not on a team yet. And that's what I was doing today; I am weeding out the ones that aren't ready yet. Actually, skill level is almost the last thing that helps you pass." Kakashi waited a moment to let this sink in. "so, on that note, can you guess what I'm looking for?"

All three of them were silent for a moment as they were looking at this in a new light. Kakashi wasn't surprised that Sakura came up with the answer first.

"Teamwork," she said in a confident manner. "You were waiting to see if we act like a team and work together." Kakashi kept a stoic expression on his face though. Though Sakura herself technically passed, they needed to address something else before he would pass her, and he needed to see if Naruto and Sasuke could get it. It made sense that neither of them had gotten the point of it yet, all their lives they had nobody but themselves to rely on, or at least Naruto did, Sasuke had only been in that position for the last six or seven years. Suddenly Sasuke and Naruto's eyes opened widely and they looked at each other. Kakashi inwardly smiled, they figured it out.

Looking back up at Kakashi, Naruto spoke first. "We could have had a much better chance if we had worked together. It still probably wouldn't have worked, but our chances would have been much better." Sasuke had an agreeing look on his face. Kakashi responded by clapping and smiling.

"Congratulations, you all passed." Kakashi sighed in relief as he saw Naruto's face light up in honest joy. In all the years that Kakashi had known Naruto, he could probably count the number of times he looked like a normal kid his age on one hand. Even Sasuke had a pleased expression on his face. Sakura was happy too, but something seemed to be bothering her, and Kakashi needed to bring that up right now.

"Alright, before I let you go, we need to talk about and solve another problem before I will allow you to pass." Kakashi said again in an all business tone. Kakashi thought about a tactful way to bring it up, but couldn't think of one, so he would just more or less blurt it out.

"Naruto, you have a problem with Sakura that I happen to agree with. It's dangerous to have that on a team." Naruto had invented yet another expression to put on his face, it was somewhere between joy and being serious. Before Naruto spoke though, Kakashi had to remind him to be tactful too.

"Naruto, take a moment to collect yourself and explain the problem, ok?" Kakashi said in a somewhat calm manner. Sasuke had an interested look on his face, while Sakura's was somewhere between hurt, and worry.

Just as he was told, Naruto took a moment and figured out the best way to say it. When he was ready he looked back up at Kakashi and nodded. Kakashi just nodded back and turned to face Sakura. Naruto, though it was clear he was at least attempting to be nice, didn't pull it off very well.

"Sakura, to be frank, you're a liability. Not only does your work ethic suck, but you're holding us back. You don't have any real drive to be here, not like me and Sasuke anyway. This means that you will be satisfied with doing the bare minimum in training, and thus hurting the team as we're only as strong as our weakest link. If you don't actually want to be here, I sure as hell don't want you here, and I can say for sure that Sasuke doesn't either. Not only these things, but I'm not sure you have what it takes to be a ninja period as you don't have any drive to be here. You made it through the academy, so you might have the resolve to die for the village. And I say village because you apparently don't have anything resembling a belief or ambition. However, I don't think that you have the resolve to kill for any one, or anything. And that is something that is absolutely necessary, what do you think we train for? In the academy you always gave answers and stuff that was based on trying to find peaceful solutions. You are either an idiot, or a very naïve and idyllic person.

"If that was the case, we would be given lessons in diplomacy, not knife fighting. Because to a ninja, a knife is just a quarter pound of diplomacy, I suggest you become a politician of some sort before you get us killed." Naruto may have started out with a sadistic note in his voice, but he ended in all seriousness and conviction. Sasuke and Kakashi were needless to say very impressed. Sasuke knew that Naruto was not an idiot; he was just more inclined to practical examples and stuff. But just then, Naruto actually sounded very intelligent. It sounded like it was an essay that he had spent a week on. Kakashi knew how smart Naruto was, but it was still surprising when he witnessed it.

Sakura on the other hand was on the verge of tears. She knew that everything that Naruto had said was absolutely true. She was actually aware that she didn't have a real dream that involved being a ninja like all of the other kids. She had just assumed that it was ok, that is, until Naruto told her the truth. He was right, as usual. Naruto may have been a social idiot, but he knew that he was, and therefore, never said anything about it so he was never wrong about it. He chose his words carefully, and was almost always right when it came to philosophical and physiological topics like this.

'But what can I do about it? Naruto may be right about me not having a dream to be a better ninja, but there has to be another way to keep being a ninja.' Sakura thought to herself.

Kakashi saw the conflict in her and decided to end it here. Naruto seemed better now that he had gotten it out, and it looked like Sasuke agreed with him, and not just for the reasons that Sakura was just annoying. Sakura just looked deep in thought, and that was good, this needed to happen. Naruto was right, if chasing after Sasuke was the only reason she wanted to be a shinobi, she was eventually going to get them killed or captured. But they had done the right thing, it was out in the open now, and Sakura still had time to back out without any real repercussions. It was either that, or she figures out a new goal or ideal to devote herself to.

And so, Kakashi cut their ropes and let them go. Sakura just kind of sat there for a moment thinking things over while Sasuke and Naruto stretched out after being tied up for over a half hour. After a few minutes of this, Kakashi excused himself and told them all to meet him in same spot same time tomorrow. Right as they were about to part ways Naruto decided that it was time to 'make a move' and try to start the friendship process. Besides, he doubted Sakura would want to join him, and Sasuke probably wouldn't either. But it was the thought that counted, and maybe later on they would be more open to it as he had already asked them.

"Hey, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. I'm going to this ramen stand, wanna come with me?" Naruto asked trying his best to do it in an offhand casual way. Of course, it didn't exactly work. Sasuke just had a look of mild shock, and Sakura was slack jawed, as Naruto had indeed invited her as well. Sakura was the first to recover.

"Um, no thanks. I… I need to think everything over." Sakura said in a strange voice, already over her shock. She decided to be truthful about it as she really didn't care enough right now to be embarrassed. Surprisingly, the two boys didn't make any smart ass remarks, or anything like that. They both just nodded, apparently happy that she was taking what was said seriously.

Sasuke opened his mouth to tell Naruto no, but stopped and thought it over for a second. 'Why not? It's not like ill be able to train anymore until I eat anyway, and after that beating I'm not sure how much I can do even after that. Plus, Sakura won't be there, and I doubt any other annoying bitches will bother me if I'm around Naruto.' That was when I dawned on Sasuke how useful Naruto could truly be. Naruto was the closest thing to fan girl repellent that there was. And besides, Naruto probably just got rid of Sakura for good, if he wanted to hang out; he guessed that he owed him at least that. 'And it's not like Naruto is going to act stupid, who knows? Maybe I'll find out if he really does kill people?' and with that, it was decided. Although Naruto could, and would eventually be the best sparring partner Sasuke could find, at the moment, he was still too proud to admit that he needed help.

Sasuke just shrugged, "sure, why not?" he said in a disinterested tone. He still needed to keep up his cool exterior. Some thought that all of his callousness and being hard was all a front on Sasuke's part, and for a while it was. But the truth of the matter was that that was a long time ago, and Sasuke was just what he acted to be. Although Sasuke would never admit it to anyone, he was very curious about Naruto. He had never known, or even heard of any one like him before. He liked the fact that Naruto was ruthless, callous, and openly admitted that he was a monster, and even openly admitted that he enjoyed killing and hurting people. And on top of that, Naruto didn't seem to be afraid of anything. In short, Naruto was almost everything that Sasuke wanted to be. Almost being the key word, he didn't want to adopt his personality; he just wanted to understand him better, so he could make himself that much stronger.

Naruto was to say the least, surprised. It wasn't a huge shock that Sasuke said yes, but he defiantly wasn't expecting it. And for that matter, he hadn't planned for it either; he didn't know what to do now that he actually had someone to hang out with. Naruto shook his head as the conversation came back to him.

"Um, right, well, follow me." He said in a somewhat awkward manner as he led Sasuke to his favorite ramen stand.

It was a particularly slow day at the Ichiraku ramen stand today. Naruto hadn't been around for a while, and since he had started to openly allow Naruto to eat at the bar those years ago, his business declined significantly. Even with this though, he was fine with it. Most shinobi still ate there, and he didn't want to serve anyone who hated Naruto anyway. Unlike most people, Teuchi knew, or at least suspected of who Naruto's parents were. It really wasn't that hard to see the resemblance between Naruto and the fourth. Besides, before he had become Hokage, Minato had eaten there almost every day. In fact, Teuchi was one of the few that knew that Minato was married, and one of only a handful of people that knew that she was pregnant.

Teuchi just sighed at the thought, remembering and reflecting on times now forgotten by most people was exhausting. Very few truly remembered how life was before the Kyubi attacked. Instead they focused their rage and hate on the one boy who was the gate keeper and their savior. They seemed to only remember the very best of what their lives had been, and not on the fact that everything had eventually gone back to the way it was. Nothing ever really changed.

Just as he was banishing his thoughts from his mind, a badly beaten Naruto walked in. Teuchi smiled and was about to welcome Naruto when the equally beaten up Uchiha kid walked in and sat beside Naruto. Teuchi was shocked, and his jaw dropped. Naruto had apparently made a friend. Though he didn't know that Sasuke was only hanging out with Naruto to keep others away and keep him from being bothered, he was still with Naruto. Teuchi was mildly entertaining the idea that this was some prank by Kakashi, then Naruto snapped him out of his trance by throwing a pair of chopstick at him. Clearly, Naruto still needed some lessons in manners.

"Hey old man, are you going to take our order or what?" Naruto said slightly annoyed.

Sasuke just raised his eyebrow, he may not be overly courteous, but he was rarely plain rude, at least to anyone who was older than him, usually. The man at the counter just shook his head and smiled a little, "sorry Naruto, I got lost in my thoughts for a second. What can I get you?"

Naruto just shrugged. "I'll have my usual starting bowls of Miso ramen. And a couple of ice packs." Then the old man turned to Sasuke who just shrugged, much like Naruto did and held up two fingers indicating that he wanted the same thing Naruto did. Unfortunately for Sasuke, he did not know that Naruto usually ate about three times what he usually did. While they waited, the two boys sat in a strangely comfortable silence.

An hour had passed and the two boys had hardly said anything to each other. This was okay with Naruto as he usually enjoyed silence, and he didn't know that when you hang out you were supposed to have some form of a conversation. Sasuke didn't mind that much as he really didn't have all that much to say anyway. As much as Naruto interested him, he really didn't care enough to get to know him. Besides, Naruto seemed to be okay with it, and no one else had bothered him at all.

When they were just finishing up, Sasuke decided to leave a tip and compliment the old man and his daughter whom came in later. It really was good food.

"Hey, um Naruto, what are their names?" Sasuke asked in a hushed voice. Naruto just took a second and shrugged.

"I don't know, I never asked." He said with a smile. It took a lot of will power to not face fault, instead Sasuke just sweat dropped. Naruto had told him how he had found the place, and apparently he had somehow managed to eat at a place for six years and not pick up on their names. Also there was the fact that Naruto didn't seem to see anything wrong with it. Apparently Teuchi had been listening as he came out laughing with his daughter.

"It's alright, we were wondering when it would be brought up." The girl said with a smile at both of them. Naruto just flushed as he realized just how much of an idiot he had been to not even hear or pay attention to pick their names up in passing conversation for years. As Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, he was greeted with a wry smirk. Naruto groaned. Sasuke was not going to let this go, oh no. Naruto was all too familiar with the concept of black mail, and he had pretty much handed this to Sasuke on a silver platter.

"Any way, my name is Ayame, and this is my father, Teuchi." The young woman said that had now been identified as Ayame. Naruto just sighed; it was time to leave before any more embarrassing details got out that he wasn't yet aware of.

"Alright, I'm stuffed, come on Sasuke, let's get out of here." Naruto said as if it was completely normal that they were hanging out. Sasuke just shrugged, he didn't have anything else to do, and he figured he might as well ask Naruto something.

Sasuke and Naruto pretty much walked off in a direction that seemed to have less people than other areas. Apparently, that was something else that they had in common. Sasuke just sighed, he might as well get this over with, and he didn't want to be around Naruto all day.

"Hey Naruto, you seem like you know Kakashi-sensei, have you guys known each other for a while?" Naruto looked mildly surprised that Sasuke said anything, so far he had said as little as possible.

"Ya actually, I've known him for years now." Naruto said. Naruto just stopped there as he didn't realize that Sasuke wanted him to elaborate. Naruto figured that out when he could tell Sasuke was getting pissed though.

"Oh, I guess you want to know how and why, huh." Naruto said as he smiled and rubbed the back of his head, something that he had recently started doing whenever he was embarrassed.

"Well, I actually met Kakashi when I was seven. He saved my life, or rather, got me to the hospital. And I can't go into most of the reasons about why we still talked and stuff, but some of it was him just being nice I guess." That last part was true, though Naruto didn't really believe it yet. As the idea of someone doing something for someone else just to be nice was still completely foreign to him.

"He saved your life?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. Not only that, but he would never have guessed that they had known each other that long. Naruto smirked, reached up and lowered the part of his turtle neck that exposed the big scar on his throat. Sasuke was to say the least shocked. He had seen few scars like that, and had never heard of anyone surviving getting their throat slit.

"Ya, he saved me by getting me to the hospital and stuff. After that, well, we kind of just stayed aquatinted, you know?" Naruto said with another shoulder shrug. Sasuke just nodded, while Sasuke did have other questions for Naruto, he was still a little annoyed by him, so he decided that they could wait as they were almost defiantly going to be on the same team. And with that thought, Sasuke just excused himself, but was honest about it.

"Alright, I'm going home. I'm getting a little tired of you right now, but I'll see you tomorrow." Sasuke said and started walking away.

Naruto just nodded at him while they still had eye contact, truthfully Naruto was starting to feel the same way, and also decided that he liked that Sasuke was blunt like him. So with that thought in mind, Naruto started towards the forest. His little tree house was closer to the training grounds, and he still felt safer when he slept there anyway. And it wasn't as if it wasn't comfortable either. Over the years, Naruto had made some improvements. It wasn't as if he had an entire house or something, but it was a little bigger, and much more stable than before. To add to that, Naruto's bed was actually more comfortable out here than back in the village. He had made everything himself, which meant that he had made sure that everything was up to his standards. He was almost never cold out here.

As Naruto settled in a little earlier than usual, for the first time in a while, he felt good. And not just in the sense that he was one step closer to his goal, he just felt better that his life seemed to be getting better in general. And as alien as the feeling was, as most feelings still felt weird, he liked it and wanted more of it. Strangely, his last thoughts before he fell asleep were that he was sure that if he wanted anything more, a big part of it had to do with Hinata.

He didn't know why, but he felt concerned about her. He just wanted to know that she was ok, and that her training was going well. He also realized that she had probably gone through some kind of test too and he was wondering if she had passed. It wasn't that he was worried that she might have gotten hurt, that was life and the life of a shinobi, and he just wanted to know that she would be ok. These were his last thoughts before he let sleep take him away from all of his troubles.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**On an ending note, I would like to say that I am sorry that there hasn't been too much fighting and death in awhile. I will set out to rectify this mistake, though I may have to come up with my own little mini arch to do it. I hope that that's ok, comment or email me to give me your thoughts on that. **_


	12. Chapter 12

**It's come to my attention, (and I mean numerous e-mails) that the comment on my last chapter about intentionally adding violence, just to do it, is very offensive. Now, we can't have someone unhappy, not on the ****Internet!**** But what better way to cheer someone up than some good old extracurricular activities? This one is dedicated to all you fucking pansies out there! Oh ya, in case you didn't get the message. To the people that e-mailed me, ****FUCK YOU!**

**(I hope I don't get kicked off this site for that, but I had to say it. If I do, I will continue to post on deviant .) **

**Chapter 12**

As luck would have it, Naruto didn't have to wonder if Hinata was ok. Hinata found him two days later while he was training with the rest of his team. However she was not ok, you could tell she had been crying a lot. Naruto looked to Kakashi to see if it was ok to stop training and go try and comfort her. As much as he may have wanted to, if Kakashi said no, he would obey him. This did get very bewildered looks from both Sakura and Sasuke though.

"Hinata, what's bothering you?"Naruto asked in a tone indicating that he was concerned. As soon as Hinata saw Naruto, she ran at him. Naruto didn't know what to do, but on instinct he drew his sword, but he didn't need it. Instead of attacking Naruto, Hinata hugged him and started crying. Naruto instantly froze up, and Kakashi got ready. Kakashi was fast, but he doubted that he could save Hinata if Naruto wanted her dead.

Naruto's reaction was predictable. Through Naruto's entire life, being touched by anyone meant pain, so he was more or less conditioned to it. Not only that, but it was the way Hinata was holding him that was the big deal. She was hugging him. That was something that every human feels down in their sub conscience. The act of hugging was a demonstration of total and unconditional trust, complete trust. When you hugged someone, you put either one, or two arms around the other persons neck, which is of course one of the most vulnerable spots on your body.

Naruto had seen other people hug, but had never been hugged himself. He was as stiff as a board and trying very hard not to kill Hinata. Everyone else there saw the conflict within him, and they were worried for Hinata's safety. No one moved a muscle, as they didn't want to cause any sudden movements. After about a minute of no movement, and Hinata crying, Naruto finally moved. With his strong arms, he gently pushed her away.

"Hinata, who has done this to you?" Naruto asked in a calm voice. And it terrified everyone there. Naruto angry, hateful, was expected. Naruto being calm, passive aggressive, which meant someone, was going to die. Kakashi was torn, from what Hinata was acting like, whoever it was probably deserved it. She would not have come to Naruto just for comfort, even she wasn't that naïve. Kakashi decided to hear her out before he did anything.

Hinata had tried to understand Naruto for years. She got the fact that everyone seemed to hate him. She got a lot of that at home. She got the loneliness. It was the worst type of fate that there was, and she had been lonely for a long time. She trained, and stalked Naruto to fill up time. Naruto trained and hunted. What she could never understand, no matter how hard she tried, was the hate. She saw it in Naruto, sometimes she literally could see it, and it was some kind of red chakra or something. But couldn't understand what it was like to feel that angry all of the time. She understood hate now, now she had a lot of it. Now she understood part of why Naruto was sadistic. But she was going to need Naruto's help if she was going to get vengeance.

And so, she sat down, and told all who were present her story, and her intentions. Her story was bad, and angered everyone. At one point Naruto's eyes turned crimson and his already sharp and long teeth grew. Naruto took a few minutes to calm down, and then sat down to listen to the rest of it. And after a little more explaining why she had come to Naruto, Naruto was convinced. Naruto then looked to Kakashi to see if he was going to interfere. He also gave him a look that clearly said that unless you restrain me, this is going to happen. Kakashi took one more look at Hinata, and said in a neutral tone.

"Give me some time to at least try to make this legal." Naruto took a moment and nodded. Kakashi then dismissed them and left. After this, Hinata got a hold of herself, Naruto whispered something in her ear, and she nodded and left. Now, Naruto's attention was on his teammates.

"Before I do anything else, I need to know what you are going to do. Are you in, or out?" Naruto said in his all business tone. Naruto took this moment to examine the two of them. Sasuke looked both angry, and scared. Sakura seemed in shock, though Naruto guessed what it was. Naruto figured it was a combination of things, they included; the fact that people really were that evil, that Hinata had asked Naruto to do what he was going to do, that Kakashi apparently condoned it, and that she could be a part in it. Naruto also guessed that Sasuke was scared of that last thing too, but Naruto already knew what he was going to do. After another moment, Sasuke found his resolve, and nodded.

They were both looking at Sakura now. Sakura closed her eyes and took deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she looked like she had finally found some form of resolve.

"I don't know if I'm ready for this, but I also know, that if I can't do this, I'll never be able to be an actual ninja. I'm in." Naruto studied her carefully, and nodded as he was satisfied. Naruto took charge again.

"Ok, this is my world, so you will do what I say, when I say it." Naruto stated. He waited for both of them to nod. "Good, tomorrow, at noon, meet me at the Hokage monument with at least one hundred dollars."

"Stay ready though, were probably going to be called to talk to the Hokage anyway sometime today." And with that, Naruto started to walk away.

It was four hours later that, that ANBU knocked on four doors, for a summoning from the Hokage. Naruto was already ready dressed in full battle gear, Sasuke and Sakura needed a few minutes though. Naruto got there first, followed closely by Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata. Inside the Hokage's office, were him, and Kakashi. They all stood at attention before the both of them.

Sarutobi eyed the group; they all looked ready, even Sakura to his surprise.

"I'm not going to bother with formalities; you all know why you're here. But I am going to go over the circumstances of this mission." The aged Hokage said without any hint of weakness, or emotion, a trademark of the experienced. "Hanabi Hyuga was raped, tortured, and is currently in a catatonic state in the hospital." Sarutobi took a moment to judge their reactions. All of them showed varied degrees of anger, except Naruto. Naruto had already hardened himself to it.

"Because the police have neither the resources, contacts, nor evidence the case has been transferred to their cold case files. Normally it would stay that way, but a private contract has been issued from said family to bring those to justice. Most of the time, these are immediately shut down, and made sure that they don't get outside help. However, this is aloud in certain extreme circumstances when the crimes are particularly heinous." The aged Hokage took another carful look at the young Genin standing before them. To all but Naruto and Hinata, the enormity of the situation was hitting them, but they still stood firm.

"Naruto Uzumaki, because of your experience, and knowledge of that area, you have been personally requested for this task." This did get some raised eyebrows from all of the other Genin. Even Hinata did not know that her father had requested Naruto.

"Therefore, if you should choose to accept, you are in command, do you accept?" Naruto didn't hesitate.

"Yes sir." Sarutobi nodded and looked at the others who didn't know what to think at this point.

"As for the rest of you, this isn't an official mission, and therefore you are not required to accept. This is going to be very ugly as aggressive interrogation is all but guaranteed." This statement got mixed reactions. They all knew what that meant. Sakura looked a little sick; Sasuke had his eyes closed and was taking a deep breath, Naruto and surprisingly Hinata were both smirking.

"that is almost the sum of it, if you do accept, you will be required to follow Naruto's orders as if he were you Jonin sensei, are you ok with that." Both Hinata and Sasuke nodded right away, Sakura waited a second and then added her nod.

"Last chance," Sarutobi said with a firm tone. "Do you accept?"

Four "YES SIR!"S said in sync was the answer.

"Very well, Naruto Uzumaki, you are here by granted nemesis, and rendition protocols, and are given the temporary rank of Chunin. Kakashi Hatake will be tailing you four for back up should he deem it necessary, or if Naruto gives him a signal. He will also be your liaison for me, you will give him a report on the situation every day." Kakashi, whom had not said, or moved once, suddenly stood up from his leaning position on the wall.

"Genin have never been allowed on a 'task' like this before. This is not an actual mission, so you are officially mercenaries that have our blessing. However, your actions will not in any way be attributed to Konoha, so you will turn over your forehead protectors that identify you as Konoha shinobi." Kakashi then accepted them from all of them. Then Sarutobi spoke again.

"That's all for now, good luck, and god speed. Dismissed." They all bowed, and followed Naruto out the door.

"How do you think it will go?" Sarutobi asked Kakashi in a hushed voice.

"I think it will go exactly like you think it will. But I think that this could actually be a good thing. This is something that Naruto is good at, and I think that it will help them understand him, for the better or worse. As for the rest of them, it's not like they wouldn't be exposed to this eventually anyway. They don't have to enjoy it, but they need to realize that it's necessary. And the people that will know things are probably going to be people that really deserve it and much worse, it will make it easier." The aged Hokage only nodded at Kakashi's wisdom.

XXXXXXXXXX

After they had gotten outside the building, Naruto stopped and closed his eyes to think. Sasuke was curious and was the first to speak.

"So, what now?" Naruto just turned around and looked Sasuke up and down sizing him up. He didn't the same thing to Sakura and Hinata.

"Do you all have that money?" Naruto asked in a stoic tone. Surprisingly they all nodded.

"Good, then follow me. They did as they were told. Sasuke for one was surprised to find that he didn't mind following orders from Naruto; Though Sasuke didn't like to take orders from anyone, probably because he was raised with the idea that he was better than other people because he was an Uchiha. He even had to swallow a retort or two directed at Kakashi in the few times they had trained together. This was probably because Naruto was taking this seriously and wasn't likely to give an order that didn't have a real purpose.

What Sasuke didn't know was that he was starting to gain real respect for Naruto, not the kind born just from competition.

Naruto led them to the middle class part of the city to a second hand clothes store. On the way, he answered some questions.

**Flashback: **

"Hey Naruto," Sakura started timidly. She was a smart girl, bet she had never heard of some the phrases that Naruto apparently knew. "What are the nemesis and rendition protocols? If you don't want to tell me that's ok too." She added quickly as Naruto was scary right now and Kakashi wasn't there.

"No, it's ok Sakura. In fact I encourage any and all questions. You should know anything that relates to this 'assignment'. Knowledge is good to prepare yourself, and you will need as much preparation as you can get. Because make no mistake, we may still be in the village, but you lives will very much be at risk. Things like what happened to Hinata's sister are common and happen all of the time in that section of the village. Actually, much worse things go on over there. I'm actually surprised that whoever did it didn't sell Hanabi to the underground slave trade, probably realized who they had just messed with." Needless to say, they were all shocked.

"And to answer your question Sakura; the activation of rendition protocols mean that were allowed to kidnap whoever we think might hold critical information vital to the mission, it also allows us to torture them to get said Intel. The activation of Nemesis protocols is basically, and I know it sounds lame, a license to kill. The word Nemesis is actually a name of a god from ancient mythology; he was the god of just punishment and vengeance. It means that we are allowed to take whatever means to catch the people responsible, and punish them in whatever method we find suitable."

"oh." Sakura said with an expression that was somewhere between being horrified, and thinking that it made sense.

"I've got one." Sasuke said with his normal disinterested tone. Naruto just nodded for him to continue.

"The Hokage said that you were specifically requested for this, and that you have experience in this matter. And why couldn't the police just handle it." Naruto just nodded, that, he needed to tell them.

"For one, no one would ever talk to a cop in that part of town, guilty or innocent. Not ever, and it's very easy for them to tell who is and who isn't. They can tell because only cops ask questions. As for the part about me, well, I grew up there. I spent the better part of half my life on the streets in that part of the village, so I know where to start, and how to go about it. And well, I know how to hurt people in the right ways. Physical torture isn't always the best way to go." Naruto said in an emotionless tone.

Out of all of the things Sasuke expected, that was very low on the list. He could tell that the others were thinking similar thoughts by looks on their faces too. He thought about what that must have been like, but then dismissed it as he would find out soon enough, and he really didn't care all that much anyway.

**Present time:**

When they got to the store, and after Naruto sized them up, Naruto took their money and told them to wait outside. They stood in an uncomfortable silence while they waited for Naruto. After almost an hour, Naruto walked out of the store with four boxes. After he set them down, he gave each person one of them.

"Alright, these are the clothes that were going to wear. I've written instructions on a piece of paper, or rather suggestions on where you should hide your weapons, inside the box. Also, you should bring only the equipment that I've listed. Meet where I told you all earlier." Then they all started to go their separate ways. But then Naruto remembered something, something that was too sadistic for even him to enjoy. "Hey Sasuke," Naruto called out before he could get to far away. Sasuke just turned with his usual scowl on his face. Naruto ignored it though.

"In advance, I'd like to say that I am honestly sorry." Sasuke had a weird expression on his face while he eyed the box he was carrying. Sasuke just nodded as Naruto seemed sincere.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was ten thirty and Naruto was already at the monument dressed in the clothes he had in his box. There were a couple of reasons that he wanted to meet up here, and why it was so late. One being that this was a place where they shouldn't be disturbed, or worry about other people listening in, and two, the real monsters in the bad part of town didn't come out till the sun went down.

One by one, they all joined him at the top of the monument until everyone was there. When Sasuke showed up, he was wearing his clothes, but he also had a blanket wrapped around him so that no one could see what he was wearing. He was also glaring at Naruto. Sasuke was wearing the same thing Naruto was, only on Sasuke it made him look like a bad ass, and that in turn caused every fan girl in the village to chase him, and more or less rape him. He had barely escaped some as they seemed to call ahead, and ask for reinforcements.

Both he and Naruto had tight black t-shirts, dark colored camys', and a slightly beaten up leather jacket. In addition to this, they all had a big picture of a snarling wolf stitched on the back. Inside everyone's jacket Naruto had had some chain mail stitched in. it wouldn't offer a lot of protection, but some was better than none. Also, inside everyone's sleeves they had on bracers that would shoot a kunai into their hand if they twisted their wrist a certain way. Sakura and Hinata had similar clothes; just theirs were obviously designed for girls. In addition to this, they all had very well built, but slightly beaten up, combat boots.

(Look up 'The Witcher' to get a picture of what I had in mind for the wolf insignia.)

"Did everyone bring what they were supposed to?" Naruto asked as he laid his gear out on the ground in front of him. Everybody followed his example. Everyone had the same stuff, except for one unique item apiece, Naruto had brought a meat hook, Sasuke had a pair of pliers, Hinata had brought some ninja wire, and Sakura had brought some lye in a thermos.

Everyone examined each others equipment, and knew it all was going to be used for some form of torture that Naruto would, and was going to use. Naruto took the initiative again.

"Questions?" Sasuke nodded.

"Why are we all dressed like this, and why are we all wearing matching outfits?" Naruto nodded, it was a good question.

"Like the Hokage and Kakashi said yesterday, no one will talk to either a cop, or a shinobi. These clothes will make us look like we belong, and live there. We all look alike, because I want us to look like a gang. This will attract attention to us, which means that other gangs will be out to get us. As the body count rises, so will our reputation. In turn, people will be afraid of us, therefore, more willing to cooperate." Sasuke nodded, but looked a little pale as Naruto said they were intentionally going to attract attention to kill people just to increase their reputation. Hinata and Sakura had similar looks on their faces.

"Alright, before we go in there, you guys need to know a couple of things. First, never let your guard down. No one is to be trusted; you have to assume everyone is out to kill you. Even children will try to stab you to death if they get a chance. No one is going to help us either, so if we get into trouble, and Kakashi doesn't show, were on our own. When someone does try to steal or kill you, you have to retaliate, and it must be brutal. If a five year old kid tries to pick pocket you, break their arm." At this Naruto took a moment to let it sink in. he wanted to make sure that they got how important this was, and his tone reflected how serious he was. All of them appeared to be following along so far.

"I'm not going to kid you; you are going to have to kill on this mission. There is no way around that. If you don't kill without hesitation, you will die, even though you are a ninja." Naruto stopped again. This really sunk and slightly shocked them. They had all suspected that they were going to have to, maybe. But Naruto had just told them that it was certain, that if they didn't, they were going to die. Naruto knew Sasuke could go through with it; he could and would do it without hesitation. Hinata was still overwhelmed with hatred right now, so that wouldn't be a problem for her. She might regret it later, but for now, no one was going to get in her way. It was Sakura that worried Naruto. She had never experienced any emotion to drive her to do something like this, and she didn't have any real reason, or resolve to gut through it. But just as it looked like she was going to back out, she looked at Sasuke. Sasuke noticed, but just watched her out of the corner of his eye. Sakura turned back to Naruto with a hardened expression and nodded.

Naruto was satisfied, they could do it, and he was sure. But even still, he was going to give them one last chance to back out.

"Anyone not ready for this?" said Naruto in a somewhat sadistic tone. No one moved.

"Alright, let's move out."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was still an hour of daylight left, but they were already there. On the way Naruto had explained that they weren't going to be playing detective, the assault of a Hyuga would be known by even some of the smaller dealers. Naruto knew where to start, there was a small time dealer named Hotaka, he could at least point them in the right direction. But they had other problems right now.

As soon as they got more than three blocks into the district, news of Naruto's return was spreading. As Naruto would later learn, Daisuke, the kid whose arm he broke at the academy, had started spreading rumors and lies about Naruto after he got back. Naruto would never know if he was doing this intentionally, or if he was just being a crack head and shouting out nonsense. Of course that was years ago, so the rumors had changed. Currently the rumors were that Naruto was an assassin and led his own crime syndicate. As stupid as these sounded, people tend to believe either what they want to be true, or what their afraid to be true.

However, right now they had other problems, they were being followed. It was exactly like Naruto said it would be, a rival gang was going to kill them in order to get rid of competition or something like that. Whatever the reason, they knew that the dying and killing was coming. Sakura and Hinata were both trying to prepare themselves for it, Sasuke just wished they would hurry up, as he was kind of curious as to how it felt to kill someone, and Naruto was of course very excited. He once again, felt very alive.

As far as Hinata went, as much as she wanted vengeance, doing and thinking were two very different things. She wouldn't have had any problem in killing the person that actually hurt her sister, but these guys didn't have anything to do with it. They were just killing them to create a reputation. Both Hinata and Sakura took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sakura was also just trying to get over it, but she figured that when it actually happened, it would be better to do rather than just waiting for it.

Sasuke started first. "I count six," Sasuke said somewhat quietly, but not moving his head, or giving any indication that he had noticed them. Naruto did the same.

"There are seven actually; in the window ahead on the left side right bellow the roof is a scout. I'm betting that there all waiting for his signal. Can you see him?" Naruto asked hopefully. Sasuke took a look without giving anything away, that is, without moving his head.

"Yes, I see him."

"Good, when he moves to make the signal, can you take him out?" Naruto asked in a genuine manner. It wasn't that he thought that Sasuke couldn't kill him; he just wanted to know if his aim was good enough to make that shot with enough power to kill him. Sasuke took a moment to think.

"Yes." Sasuke stated with certainty. Naruto nodded, if any of this was going to work, he was going to have to trust Sasuke, and the others for that matter.

"Alright, let him make the signal for a split second, then split his head open." Naruto told Sasuke with his sadistic tone creeping into it. He then told the other two what to do, and what to expect.

"Alright, they will be on us the moment this guy gives the signal, so I want you two to cover Sasuke for the moment he is preoccupied. After that, move to the sides, Sasuke, you cover the rear, and I'll take the front. Remember, they will probably be between the ages of ten, to nineteen or so; some of them may even be somewhat innocent as this will obviously be their first real fight. It will be obvious who these are, but don't spare them, we kill them all, and let god sort them out." Naruto said the last part with his nightmare of a smile. The others only response was silence.

It happened just the way Naruto had predicted, and he was satisfied with everyone's performance. Taking Naruto's advice, Sasuke had indeed thrown his kunai hard enough to literally split the kids head wide open. As it was, it had a great effect on all of the kids' friends as they saw their friend hang half way out the window with his brains and pieces of scull collecting on the sidewalk below him. Sakura and Hinata did their jobs correctly, if not still being a little hesitant. They both took out one each, Hinata simply side stepped one, and let him run into a kunai that pierced his aortic artery, he bled out in seconds. Sakura did well for her part; she had to kill a ten year old girl. She used a move that Kakashi had just taught her; she ducked, swept her legs, and let her fall on a kunai that went into the base of her skull.

At this point, Naruto had already killed two of them, both of them being older kids. Naruto just pulled out his trench knife, and did a standard block to the first kid that had his knife in a reverse grip and tried to bring it down on Naruto's head, Naruto just blocked, and did a sort of spin, getting in real close to the guy and stabbed him while he was behind Naruto. The next one was almost on Naruto right away. Naruto did a back hand spring, then shot forward while the older boy was trying to change his position. The kid tried to sweep Naruto's feet, but Naruto simply jumped up and elbowed him in the face. Acting on that, he brought his elbow back and struck him right on the nose knocking his head back. Naruto took the opportunity and did a reverse swipe with his trench knife. It was something Naruto had wanted to do ever since he had done it to that girl in that abandoned house. Naruto turned his head into a pezz candy dispenser, this time almost decapitating him. It was beautiful to Naruto, the grace and elegance of the ark of blood that shot out gave Naruto a genuine smile.

Sasuke only got to kill one other person, but he did it brutally. The kid tried to do a strait stab, but Sasuke strafed to the right, got low, and did a round house kick that blew the kids knee backwards. While the kid bent forward, screaming in agony, Sasuke took one his kunai and put it threw the kids neck, hard enough so it poked out the other side. Sasuke had s strange look on his face as watched the kid gurgle blood trying to get air. Apparently, Sasuke missed his mark, which was ok considering that this was his first fight and he was still a Genin, and the kid ended up bleeding out before he died.

Then next thing Naruto had to do was make sure that nobody freaked out. He knew that he didn't have to worry about Sasuke, but Sakura and even Hinata needed to be checked on. Hinata might be enraged about what happened to her sister, but this was her first kill, and probably the first time she had seen anything close to this amount of blood. And to add to that, she wasn't like Naruto, unless she went crazy, she would probably never enjoy killing. It just wasn't a part of who she was.

Naruto looked at everyone, and took stock of the situation. Sasuke, as to his expectations, looked much the same as he always did. The only difference being that he looked like he was in a mild form of shock, which was normal, these were their first kills. Hinata looked like she was also in shock, but seemed to be holding it together. Sakura looked as if she was getting ready to panic. But also, she looked like she knew what was happening, and was calming herself down. Naruto nodded, she would be ok, and she was taking care of it. At this point they all walked over to Naruto's position and kind of huddled around him.

"Alright, you guys did well. None of you froze up, and you're keeping yourselves together. And Sakura," Naruto looked at Sakura who had by now had calmed down, but looked emotionally torn, and sick to her stomach. "Don't worry; you weren't supposed to enjoy that. Very few people do. If any of you did enjoy it, that would be a bad sign, so don't feel ashamed, you did what you had to do. Just remember that if you hadn't have killed her, she would have killed you." Sakura nodded as she closed her eyes. You could tell she was relieved. She was scared that she wouldn't be allowed to be a ninja because she didn't like killing, but Naruto wouldn't lie, and apparently it was ok and expected that she should feel like this. After that knowledge had sunk in, it made it all easier to deal with. Naruto turned his attention to Hinata.

"Hinata, I know you don't feel it now, but keep what I said in mind. You probably won't find any regrets to what we do to whoever hurt your sister, but you will feel like that later on, just keep it in mind, ok?" Hinata just nodded. Naruto didn't need to say a lot to Sasuke, as he still wasn't sure how Sasuke felt about it. Sasuke put on a front that told other people that he didn't feel or care about anything, but Naruto knew better. Naruto could see it in his eyes, and what he saw was a little bit of exhilaration, he dint necessarily enjoy killing, but the fight had excited him and he wanted more of that rush.

Naruto smiled at Sasuke, a smile that was somewhere in between a regular smile, and the one made of nightmares. "Don't worry Sasuke, there's more of it coming. I don't know how much more fighting there will be for this mission, but I can only imagine what an actual fight between us and other ninja will be like." Sasuke's only response was a grunt. And for a split second that only Naruto caught, there was a look of surprise on his face, he was surprised that Naruto knew exactly how he felt.

"Alright, I know you guys want to get out of here, but there was a reason we did this in the day time. This will only increase our reputation. So we're going to walk out of here." Naruto said, serious again. He waited for all of their nodes, before he started walking in the direction they had originally been going. At the sight of this, Sakura shuddered. Naruto wasn't faking his walk; he was walking like it was completely normal to slaughter people in broad daylight. Not only that, but he had a bounce in his step that told her that he was happy right now. Naruto was indeed, at least in her eyes, a monster.

XXXXXXXXX

Daylight had faded about an hour ago, and they were almost at their mark. Naruto was very pleased with how everyone was acting. When they first got here, he could tell that all of them were acting like hard assess. Now, they had the cold looks of the killers they were. The looks would pass as they were reintroduced back to their normal lives, but they could be adopted again whenever they were in a place where even a child would try to stab you in the back.

It also helped that just about everyone knew that they were the ones that killed that small gang. This was confirmed by the blood on their boots, and the bloody foot prints they had left behind. Though they didn't have any blood on them, anyone that had grown up in a 'combat zone' like this could practically smell death on them, and Naruto loved every fear filled look cast in their direction. He could even smell the fear, something that any ninja could train themselves to do. He sometimes even smiled and waved at people who were trying to be invisible.

They had finally found their first stop, that drug dealer Hotaka. It was easy to find him, sort of. Naruto knew where to look; the hard part was just making sure that he didn't know they were coming. Naruto knew, but he didn't want to let it on, that they were going to end torturing this guy. He wouldn't tell them anything unless he was motivated to. But Naruto had a backup plan, Hotaka had a woman, she was in love with him, and would talk if they started hurting him. It was for exactly this reason that Naruto had brought the meat hook.

They found him without too much trouble, but they didn't go after him right away. Naruto wanted to wait, and follow him to his place where his woman would be waiting. It was around ten when he finally started home, Hotaka was an idiot, and lived close by. Before they went in after him, Kakashi paid a visit.

They were all on the rooftop opposite of Hotaka's apartment, more or less in comfortable positions while Naruto and Kakashi talked.

"So, I take it you have a plan, and a reason for the massacre earlier today?" Kakashi asked in an unfamiliar tone to Naruto. Kakashi was a little worried that Naruto would go way overboard, sure he would eventually get the guys that raped the young Hanabi, but Naruto may decide to have a little more fun than what was needed.

The rest of the team, including Hinata looked uncomfortable; apparently they were hoping that no one would bring that up. It wasn't something that they were proud of; Naruto may be, but not them. Naruto just nodded with a smirk and explained his reasoning behind it. Kakashi had to admit, it made sense, to an extent. But what both he and Naruto knew was that that was only necessary if they were going to be looking for a while, they would probably track the guy very soon.

"Anyway, I'm going to torture this guy Hotaka in a little while, he should be able to tell us who and where." Naruto said in a pleasant businesslike tone that made everyone but Kakashi and Naruto wince. Kakashi was wondering how far ahead Naruto had planned though.

"Do you really think he will talk, even under torture? Or, do you really think he will know who did it?" Naruto nodded, knowing where Kakashi was coming from. Naruto needed to convince him that he was staying on task with this. He may have been given permission, but he had no doubt that the second Kakashi thought that Naruto was just going on a rampage because he could, Kakashi would pull the plug on this little operation. It was also likely that Naruto would be in serious trouble.

"He will definitely know, he runs this whole district here, or at least he did back when I lived here. And even if he doesn't run things around here anymore, he will still know. Actually I'm sure a lot of people know, but I wouldn't know where to start exactly short of just pulling random people off the street." Naruto answered truthfully. "Also, it might take a while, but if he won't talk, his lover will." Naruto added with certainty. Kakashi nodded, satisfied.

There was another reason Naruto had chosen them. Naruto knew what these two had done, and what they were probably still doing. Actually, Naruto was almost sure that they were the ones that had raped Hinata's sister. He didn't let on that he knew this, at least not yet.

He had all but forgotten about what they did and about them in general until he started planning this little excursion. These two were, if possible, more monstrous than Naruto could ever be. And the woman was no exception either. Once he was in there, he planned to expose their secret, or secret to anyone outside this part of town. This in turn would make the torturing processes easier for the others to get through. Even with this, he didn't really expect all of them to continue on after this, not even Hinata. This was going to be something that would haunt them for the rest of their lives, even if it was warranted.

"So, what's your plan?" Kakashi asked, as this was going to be his report to the Hokage. Just as he was saying this, a young boy, who couldn't have been older than fourteen, with a lot of piercings, ran up to the apartment and knocked on the door. They all waited to see what would happen. The door opened up to a tall, but ugly looking woman. The little boy cried out, 'hey mom' and was let inside. They were all silent for a moment. Naruto then cleared his throat; it was time to tell them.

With a deep breath, Naruto started. "Obviously, this changes things, at least a little bit. But I can say with utter certainty that that kid is no less guilty than its parents." They all gave him looks that were mixtures of horror, and confusion, Horror at the prospect of torturing a boy their age, and just plain confusion on how Naruto would know. At this point, Kakashi's thoughts were confirmed as to that Naruto knew more than he was letting on.

"They're the ones that did it, aren't they." Kakashi stated. Naruto just nodded. Kakashi continued though. "What are their crimes that would make you think that their child is involved. Naruto took a deep breath, and said one word. One word that didn't make any sense to the others, but made sense to Kakashi, and made him want to throw up.

"Snuff." Naruto said in an emotionless tone.

Kakashi understood now, these people were monsters. They more or less made snuff films that involved sex, death, and children. They were just lucky that Hanabi was still alive. Kakashi took a moment to collect himself.

"How long have they been doing this, and give me your best estimate as to how many. Naruto just looked up and had a cold look.

"Since before I was born, and at least two a month." Time stood still for a moment, at least for Kakashi and Naruto. It was said, their crimes, and their child was undoubtedly involved, and there were probably films of him participating. However, the rest of them were still completely lost. Kakashi was brought out of his stupor when Sasuke cleared his throat as he was clearly tired of being in the dark about whatever they were talking about.

"Oh right," Kakashi said in a lost kind of tone. Before he explained what was going on, he decided to give Hinata some good news. "Before I go into this, I wanted to tell you Hinata that your sister woke up." Kakashi said with his weird eye smile. Everyone had a sigh of relief, even Sasuke. Before Hinata could start asking a lot of questions, Kakashi continued. "She hasn't said anything yet, but they think that she will get over it soon." Kakashi and Naruto shared a quick glance as they knew Hanabi would never be the same. Hinata just nodded, but you could tell she was relieved.

Naruto took a deep breath, he wasn't looking forward to explaining things, but it was his responsibility. Before he could start though, Kakashi did it for him. After he finished telling them everything about, and what it meant, no one said a word. They all just sat there in shocked silence. This was the first time any of them had heard of anything like this being done. Sasuke was the first to break the silence, looking straight at Naruto.

"You knew all along, didn't you?" Sasuke stated, rather than asked. While he said this he pulled out the pair of pliers that everyone suddenly realized was destined to be used on the boy. Naruto had planned out everything from the beginning. Naruto's only response was a nod. Naruto bowed his head, and took a moment before speaking.

"Hinata, Sakura, give your items, you're not coming with me." They all sat in stunned silence. Hinata's eyes were suddenly filled with rage and was just about to start yelling when Naruto raised a hand, with his palm faced towards her indicating that he wanted her to hear him out; That and the fact that he gave her an almost deadly glare. Naruto had never looked at Hinata that way before, and it terrified her.

"Hinata, I can promise you two things; one, no matter what, they are going to die in agony, and two, if you help out, you will regret it for the rest of your life." Hinata and Sasuke for that matter were both stunned at this. "I have tasted vengeance before, and it sort of feels good at first, but it leaves you feeling empty. You start to loath yourself for giving in; it feels like you let them win. And in a way, they do. It just means that you didn't have the courage to let it get done the right way, and that they brought you down to their level. Revenge is just an emotional response; it is just plain instinct and nothing else. You will not make anything right by participating. What I am going to do to them is not vengeance, but punishment. If the law could do it, I would let them, but right now, we are the only ones capable of stopping, and exacting justice." Naruto finished with purpose, and it left everyone speechless. It was true, Naruto had experienced vengeance before, and of course he mildly enjoyed it. He was not like other people, but it didn't feel as good as he thought it would. He knew that if he was normal, that would be how he would have felt. And Naruto didn't want Hinata to experience that.

To say Sasuke was stunned was an understatement. Naruto, though just by coincidence as he didn't know why Sasuke wanted vengeance, had totally picked him apart without even intending to. At first Sasuke was feeling defiant. He didn't want to accept that vengeance wouldn't make things right, or make himself feel better. But as he thought about it, he realized Naruto was right. If he ever did kill his brother, there would be nothing left for him to go back to. He would be even more miserable than before as his only drive to live would be gone. But Sasuke couldn't just let him get away with it, and that's when he had an epiphany. His brother had told him to hate him, and Sasuke doing just that would be letting him win. But as far as he knew, no one else could beat him, but he could, one day. Naruto was right, it wouldn't be vengeance, and it would be punishment.

Kakashi was ecstatic. He wasn't sure how he was going to get through to Sasuke, or if it was even possible. But Naruto had just completely broken down Sasuke's whole existence. And he could tell that it had gotten through to him. But Kakashi was also aware, that just like Naruto, Sasuke had a long way to go. Like Kakashi knew, and what Sasuke didn't realize was that on somewhat giving up on revenge, meant that he would actually have to start to live his own life. That meant creating friends, bonds, and maybe even falling love one day. But none of this even crossed his mind. The idea of it wouldn't come to him, at least not that way. It would take time, and would eventually happen as collateral damage.

Hinata knew that he was right. But she really wanted to not care and do it anyway. But she caved in with a nod. This was due to a number of things, one of which was that she would gain some respect in Naruto's eyes.

Kakashi felt a rage when Naruto had told him what was going on, and for how long. But as much as he wanted to help, he couldn't, he wasn't given the same privileges as Naruto.

Before Naruto could leave on his own, Sasuke stood up.

"I'm going with you." Sasuke stated, with a defiant look in his eyes. Naruto just turned and stared right back. Looking in his eyes, past the look of defiance, to what he was actually feeling. Naruto just nodded and tossed him the wire that Hinata had given him. As soon as Sasuke said that he was going, Sakura wanted to also, even if she wouldn't be able to handle it, she wanted to be by his side anyway. But before she could, Sasuke spoke to her, even though he was facing the opposite way.

"You're not coming Sakura, I know you want to for whatever reason, but you're not. You are not ready for this, and it doesn't matter anyway. This isn't something to be proud of, no matter what they have done. Also, you don't have to prove yourself, you already have. You killed someone today, and you did it without hesitation. You are a ninja, and you deserve a chance at least to be on this team." Sasuke said as he finished preparing. Sakura just sat there relieved. For a moment it crossed Sasuke's mind that she was very brave to be willing to go through with it as she was obviously sickened by it. But the thought left him as fast as it came.

They all waited as Sasuke and Naruto burst in the place going right through the windows. There was at first yells and sounds of brief fighting and struggle. But Naruto and Sasuke were focused, and on a whole new level than what they normally were on. Right now, they knew what was coming, and had completely devoted themselves to the task.

Kakashi was standing, leaning against a wall, and Sakura and Hinata were just sitting in thick silence as they waited. They didn't know what they were waiting for, but they knew something was coming. They didn't have to wait long; it was only a few minutes until they heard the screaming start.

Sasuke and Naruto had all three of them tied up to the chairs with ninja wire. It was tight, and they were bleeding even though they didn't struggle that much. There hadn't been much talking. Apparently, they had been expecting this. They knew that somehow they were going to have to deal with well, what they did to a Hyuga heiress. When they had first busted through the windows, Hotaka had immediately yelled that there was a lot of money for them, they ignored them. At first Naruto just silently watched them as the kid asked his parents about if it was about the pale eyed girl that they had taped him fucking.

Sasuke was doing a sweep through the house to make sure that there were no surprises anywhere. Sasuke came back with a body bag, a bone saw, and a video tape with some random kids name on it. There were even three stars on it, probably some kind of rating system they had. Naruto understood, Sasuke had found their killing and video tape room. Sasuke was glaring at the young boy as he had heard what he had said. Naruto wanted to get started soon, his bloodlust was rising, and he could tell Sasuke's was rising too.

"Hey Sasuke, I'm going to need a minute, why don't you keep the boy from being bored?" Naruto asked in an innocent voice. Sasuke actually had a small smirk on his face while he pulled out his pliers. Naruto went into the kitchen and started to boil some water, the screams from the other room were like music to his ears.

When Naruto got back, all of the boy's piercings had been torn out, and the parents were screaming at Sasuke, who was just standing there absent mindedly wiping blood off his hands while the boy was sobbing. Naruto decided to let Sasuke work the boy. He carefully handed the pan of boiling water to Sasuke with a smile.

"Why don't you make sure that no one will ever be able to tell that he was a boy at one point?" Sasuke nodded in understanding and poured the boiling water into the kid's pants. The reaction was predictable; the boy started screaming in volumes that hurt Naruto's sensitive ears.

Next, Naruto went to work on Hotaka, pulling out his meat hook as he walked closer to him. Hotaka was yelling that he was going to kill them in ways that they could never imagine. That was until, Naruto took to hook, put it under his chin, and made it pierce him so that the point of the hook was sticking out of the front of his mouth. Hotaka was just kind of gurgling screams, as Naruto had inadvertently hooked his tongue, and poked out a couple of teeth. Naruto just smiled at him as he proceed to rip off his lower jaw, it was beautiful to Naruto; he had always wanted to do that, and it looked even cooler than he had imagined it.

The woman by now was screaming, and crying for mercy. Neither of them paid them any heed as they both knew exactly what these two had done. Naruto asked Sasuke to go get him some water, not boiling, just a lot of water. As Sasuke went to get it, Naruto took a kunai, and cut off all of her clothes. When Sasuke got back, he didn't even blink at the sight. Under normal circumstances, both he and Naruto would be blushing like crazy, but this wasn't a woman, it was a monster. Naruto took out the thermos of lye, and poured it all over her. At first she was scared, but it didn't do anything, Naruto might as well have poured powdered sugar on her. Sasuke was curious too, as he had no idea what this was about, especially when Naruto took the water and took a deep breath. Naruto even had to look at the stuff Sasuke brought in from the kill room to harden his resolve. Then, he poured the cool tap water on her. The response was almost instantaneous.

You see, lye on its own, at least on the skin, is virtually harmless. But pour water on it, and it turns into a very strong acid. So strong that it will eat through just about anything. The woman was screaming out of what used to be her face, as she literally melted away. Sasuke made a gesture that he wanted to borrow Naruto's trench knife. Naruto tossed it to him. Sasuke just punched the kids face in until there was nothing left of it. Naruto and Sasuke just left them like that, and walked out.

Hinata and Sakura were actually scared, they had no idea what was happening. The bloodcurdling screams that came out of that place were terrifying. And to make matters worse, Kakashi wasn't even there, he disappeared some time ago. What none of them knew was that Kakashi was taking pictures, recording everything about Naruto, tracking his progress. It wasn't for anything legitimate, it was just something him and the Hokage kept track of. He was back when Naruto and Sasuke walked out of there covered in blood, and now had hard looks on their faces.

No one said anything as they just stood there, standing around in a circle. Hinata was almost relieved, but felt bad about it.

"You were right Naruto, I'm glad I didn't do it, I just can't help but wish that I had been there." Hinata said sounding guilty. Naruto just nodded in understanding. Sakura felt the need to comfort her though.

"Don't worry Hinata, you heard the screams, Naruto did what he does best, they did die in agony." At this Naruto and Kakashi visibly grimaced. It wasn't so much what she had said, it was the way she had said it. She wasn't trying to sound mean or demeaning in anyway, if anything, it was said in a way that could almost sound like a compliment. And that was what affected Naruto so much. He couldn't even blame her for it.

You see, that what was what Sakura saw when she looked at Naruto. To her, he was just a monster, capable of nothing but carnage and such. She didn't see that Naruto was capable of so much more. Naruto was fully able, maybe not yet, but he could experience everything, even love. This, was what hurt Naruto so much, whether he knew it or not.

After this, Kakashi had in turn, walked them all home and made sure that they were going to be taken care of. He also gave them all a day off. One thing that he did do, was force Naruto stay at Sasuke's place. They were both kind of shocked at this, but neither of them had any complaints. Kakashi knew that they were going to need each other. Their needs were entirely different from Hinata's or Sakura's, but they were after all, just out of the pre-teen stage. Sasuke would need help with his brother issues, and Naruto with his feeling alone, and the need to find a way to fit in. Because as much as he didn't admit it, Naruto was alone, and he hated it. But he didn't even blame others for avoiding him, he would avoid him too. He had no illusions about what he was; he just didn't know what to do about it.

Kakashi now knew, that the only way either of the two boys were going to get by, was with a friendship from the other one. And with that thought, Kakashi left to report to the Hokage, who was waiting patiently at this late hour.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Alright, I know I'm a sick fuck, so don't bother wasting my time on how bad of a person I am. Something else to say before I go to sleep though. When I posted the last chapter, I got over two thousand hits in twenty- four hours. And as much as that pleases me, I have only gotten like five or six reviews since. I mean come on, how hard is it? Just a thought, I would really appreciate it, so just think about it. **

**Like I said earlier. If I get kicked off this sight, I will continue to post on I will leave a link on my profile tomorrow. Good night and god speed.**

**Oh, and this was just a filler arc, the real plot will continue with the next chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

**First of all, I am yet again forced to respond this way since whoever keeps e-mailing me deletes their account or blocks me. So, to whoever was offended by the content in the last chapter, again, fuck you. And just so you know, any and everyone is capable of murder, EVERYONE. All you have to do is push the right buttons, or back them into the right corner. An example being, **

**(And you know who I am talking to.) **

**If someone or something were to get between you and your children, I guarantee, you would do whatever you had to, to get them back. Just thought you should know that you are not without fault lady, and you should maybe, just maybe, instead of sending me angry e-mails, Google 'parental control settings'.**

**Chapter 13:**

Naruto/Sasuke;

The next morning was surprisingly not awkward at all for the two boys. They were both awake around four thirty AM, and they proceeded to train, and spar together as if it was the normal thing to do and that they did this every day. They both however said nothing until they took a break around seven to eat.

It was during their breakfast that Sasuke decided that it was time to get some answers that hadn't occurred to him until he woke up.

"Naruto, why did you let that fight go down if you knew who it was?" Sasuke asked without looking up from his oatmeal in a seemingly uninterested tone. Naruto just smirked at this, he had been wondering when he was going to ask.

"There were a couple of reasons actually, one of them being that I was not positive that it was them that did it. So I did it so that incase it wasn't them." Naruto said in a neutral tone, also not looking up from his breakfast. "I also used it as a test to see how far you guys could really go. We both know that either one of us could have taken, and killed, all of them. That is of course assuming that we were willing to kill. But I needed to be sure, and prepare you guys for what was to come. If you couldn't handle doing that, there was no way any of you would have been able to do what was necessary." Naruto said as he raised his head, prompting Sasuke to do the same, and continued while making eye contact.

"The reasons I brought the tools and such was that I had decided that no matter what we found out, they were going to die anyway, horribly." Naruto said with a serious look on his face. "I had been waiting a long time for that, and I was not going to let it continue." Sasuke understood, and he had to admit that he completely agreed with Naruto, but before he could continue to his oatmeal, one of Naruto's grins broke out. That made Sasuke uneasy, and that was saying something.

"There was also another reason that was completely unrelated to all of that. I also did it because it was fun, I needed and wanted to do it," at this point Naruto took on a puzzled expression as he thought about the final reason behind it all. After a moment of silence, he got it and continued on with what appeared to be a normal smile. "I suppose I also did it, and will probably continue to do it, because I can." After a moment Naruto did a sort of shrug and continued eating.

Sasuke didn't start eating for a few moments. He had figured it had something to do with the first two reasons. 'He did it because, 'he can'?' Sasuke thought with a confused and uneasy look on his face before he put it out of his mind and also continued to eat.

Sakura:

Sakura had not fared nearly as well as her two teammates though. She was completely confused on a number of things at the moment. She hadn't felt much of anything last night, all that she had felt was mostly being numb, and a bit of shock. She felt so many things at once, and yet she hardly understood any of it.

For their part, her parents had been supportive as best they could with her. They both knew that the second she walked through the door, bloodied, grimy, and in shock; that she had lost most of her innocence. She would never be the same again. They had been expecting, and trying to prepare for this for a while now. They both knew that their daughter was now a killer, and her childhood was over.

Sakura didn't eat dinner that night, and neither of them pushed it on her. Her mother was distraught, and wanted to comfort her daughter, but her husband held her back and told her that she needed to be left alone.

Meanwhile Sakura was lying in bed, starring at the ceiling. Ignoring the fact that the sun was up and she usually was up and about almost two hours before. At the moment she was silently debating whether she was feeling guilty, or justified; disgusted with herself, or proud of herself.

For the first part, she wasn't sure if she should feel guilty or not for letting that family be tortured to death. They may have been monsters, but they technically still had the right to a trial. Not to mention she still wasn't sure if it was morally right and how she felt about it. She felt justified for not intervening, but she was conflicted on whether or not it was ok to feel that way.

As for the second part, she was conflicted on killing those kids. She honestly couldn't decide how she felt about it; she hadn't even begun to figuring out if it was ok to feel whatever way she felt. She couldn't get it out of her head, all of that blood. It just kept going through her head, like a movie. It was almost like she was the audience watching herself as she smoothly killed the girl. Then watching as the rest of them did it themselves. After a little thought about it, she promptly ran to the bathroom and threw up.

After a few more hours of thinking she finally came out of her room to try to eat something. She saw her father reading the paper on the way there, and suddenly was struck with a new respect for him. She knew that he was a samurai in the third shinobi war. He didn't just fight in small skirmishes either. He fought through the entire war, almost four years, and came out of it with a permanent injury to his right knee that forced him to use a cane for the rest of his life. In addition to this, he also came out of with his sanity. In comparison to what she had been through, yesterdays fight might as well have been a polite argument to him.

When she had first asked to be a ninja, and asked her parents to enroll her, her father knew what that meant. On her eleventh birthday her father had taken her aside, and said that when the time came, he would be there when she needed talk. She hadn't known what that meant at the time, but she did now.

As Sakura sat at the table, not touching her food, she decided that she would take up her fathers offer. And not just to talk about her feelings either. She needed some kind of professional input on whether or not she should still be a ninja.

Naruto/Sasuke:

After they finished breakfast, they both continued to train. They would have kept this up for a few more hours, but they got a summons. They were in the middle of a fight, but Naruto sensed someone that had just gotten close enough to watch, and could possibly attack them while they were distracted. Naruto pulled a move that caught Sasuke by surprise. Naruto, while in mid-air, easily grabbed Sasuke and threw him to the side and using the momentum, he launched himself in another direction. This pissed Sasuke off a little bit though.

It pissed Sasuke off because of how flawlessly Naruto pulled it off, it was almost like Naruto had been toying with him the whole time. What Sasuke didn't realize just then was that the move Naruto had just pulled of was almost useless against Sasuke, at least right now. Sasuke style, and he wasn't used to it, was designed to be fighting just one person at a time. While Naruto had spent his whole life fighting multiple opponents, his style was also focused on that as well. But all of this would become clear to Sasuke in a few days time.

The summoning happened to be by a Huyga branch member that said that the clan head Hiashi wished to see both of them. Sasuke understood, but Naruto didn't. To Naruto, it didn't make sense, they had done the job, there wasn't anything left to discuss. But before he could voice these thoughts, Sasuke answered for him and said that they would both be there in two hours time. After the branch member left, Naruto turned to Sasuke with a dead serious expression. He didn't like to be spoken for, and especially didn't like that Sasuke had told them that he would be somewhere that could be a potential trap. For Sasuke's part though, he stood his ground and held Naruto's gaze with his own one of indifference.

"Ok, what's going on?" Naruto said in a suspicious and threatening tone. Sasuke was beginning to understand Naruto, and had expected something like this.

'After all, if I grew up like that I would be just as untrusting and defensive as he is.' Sasuke thought to himself.

"I know you don't understand why, but im guessing Hanabi's father wants to thank us. I know you didn't expect this, but this is a normal occurrence." Sasuke observed the strange look on Naruto's face as the wheels in head turned. And then Sasuke audibly groaned at the new look on Naruto's face that clearly said that he had found a loop whole in Sasuke's logic.

"This isn't a trap idiot, if they wanted us dead, we probably would already be." Sasuke said while rolling his eyes. At this Naruto kind of shrugged in what seemed like an agreeing manner as he accepted Sasuke's logic as the truth.

All of this was incidental as Sasuke looked Naruto over. Sasuke again groaned as he realized what he was going to have to do. He had been raised as the son of the head of his clan, and as such; he knew how to dress, and act, when meeting someone of importance. As he looked Naruto over again, he gave up on teaching him anything that would save the kid from embarrassing himself. As both Sasuke, and Naruto for that matter, probably didn't care what others thought of Naruto. Sasuke decided to teach him just enough to not embarrass him, he would be damned if he was lumped together with Naruto. But fist things first, he was going to have to clean Naruto up a little bit. This was going to be a major pain, and Sasuke was already in a bad mood to begin with.

Hinata:

Hinata was kind of numb. She had no idea how to describe what she was feeling, or how to describe the feeling of seemingly not feeling anything at all.

Naruto had been right about her. She was happy she hadn't participated in torturing those people. She still hated them, but it was better that things went the way they did. So for now, she was just going to take Naruto's advice, and accept that it was over, and they could start to move on.

As Hinata thought over these things, her sister passed through her head. She had only seen her once, and that was what had sent her over the edge, and drove her to seek out Naruto. No matter how she felt, or thought it over, she couldn't help but feel glad that it had all happened, and that made her sick. It wasn't that she was sick that she was not only closer, but understood Naruto more, it was the idea that if given the chance to do it all over, she would have let her sister be raped if it meant having the experience of getting closer to Naruto again. As much as she hated herself for feeling that way, she couldn't help it.

There were other things on top of all of this that were going through her head as well. Even when she had been in the midsts of her rage, she was still a little worried about how she would react to seeing death and blood for the first time. Not to mention the screams. However, what unnerved her was that it didn't bother her all that much. She understood why she was ok, and even enjoyed it at the time, but she expected to feel something negative about it later on. She couldn't say that she would enjoy killing in the future, but for whatever reason, she was totally ok with it.

Hinata shook her head; she was so confused and mixed up. She idly laughed at what Naruto would think if someone described everything that she was going through right now. Naruto probably wouldn't believe it, or would be prone to thinking that someone would explode if they had that much confliction in them at once. One thing that was comforting about all of this was that Naruto would probably not be alone in this belief, as for whatever reason boys seem to have the gift to only feel a select few emotions, and usually only one at a time.

Hinata was in the middle of an internal debate on whether this was a gift or a curse when a knock on her door caught her attention. After she cleaned herself up a bit she called out,

"Enter." And in walked her father.

Naruto/Sasuke:

After a lot of frustration, and a lot of cursing, they were finally ready. It was, and wasn't as hard as Sasuke thought it was going to be. Sasuke had refused to let Naruto barrow any of his clothes, but he couldn't just let him go in his training gear.

But that was what they ended up doing, sort of. They or rather he decided that it would be the best thing if Naruto cleaned up all of his equipment and showed up in his full battle attire. Of course this put Sasuke in an awkward position. Sasuke had a sort of suit that kind of looked somewhat like a kimono, which was worn to such meetings. Sasuke knew that it would look better if they both showed up in battle attire, but he was going to go with it anyway, that was, until Naruto saw him wearing it. Needless to say, Naruto found it hilarious.

At first Sasuke was just going to brush it off, but Naruto wouldn't stop laughing. He kept trying to say something, but nothing would come out. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and went in another room to look at himself in a mirror. As he was checking himself out, he now understood why Naruto was laughing so hard. He had been so distracted that he had accidently put on one of his mother's old business dresses. He was actually wearing a kimono. Sasuke was just about to take it off when he heard a click, and a small flash went off.

Red faced, Sasuke turned around already knowing what was there. And sure enough, there was Naruto, with a camera, laughing so hard that he wasn't even making any noise. Sasuke had in vain tried to take the camera away from Naruto, but it was all for nothing as Naruto was faster than him and kept taking pictures of him the whole time.

Eventually Sasuke gave up and decided to get Naruto back later and for the moment just plot his revenge. And so, both dressed up in their battle attire, they arrived at the Hyuga estate. The only thing that they were lacking was their headbands as they hadn't been given back yet.

As Sasuke had thought, they were expected and were led to a study the moment they arrived. While Sasuke was only mildly impressed with the place, Naruto was just in shock. It was as if he thought the place was made out of gold or something.

There was a soft knock at the door and a moment later another branch member walked in. "I am sorry for the wait, but Hiashi-sama is a busy man.," the man said with a bow. Naruto and Sasuke just nodded in understanding.

"In the mean time, would either of you care for something to drink?"

Naruto was just about to ask if he could bring some sake, but Sasuke interfered and saved himself from embarrassment.

"Just some tea for the both of us will be fine Sasuke said hurriedly." The branch member just nodded and left as quickly as he came. As soon as he was gone though, Naruto and Sasuke rounded on each other.

"What the hell man?" Naruto asked in a frustrated and kind of angry tone. "That guy would have given us some free sake, as much as we wanted probably. What's your problem?" Naruto finished almost yelling.

Sasuke in turn was just as pissed. "Hey, we talked about this, remember?! Or is your brain to small and underdeveloped to do that?" Sasuke just took a deep breath and continued.

"You can't drink or do anything else stupid right now. I don't care if you humiliate yourself, but as long as you're with me, your actions reflect on me as well. Got it?" Sasuke practically yelled with an annoyed tone.

Naruto was about to shout back but Hiashi cleared his throat and caught both of their attentions.

"I assume there was some disagreement?" Hiashi asked raising his eyebrow. "Anyway, I thought I would bring you your tea myself." He said indicating the tray he was holding.

Neither Sasuke nor Naruto moved as Hiashi set the tea down and sat across from them as if it was completely normal. What they didn't see was that Hiashi was inwardly smirking. The same situation had been repeated with him and Minato for years whenever they had a mission together that required them to meet anyone of importance. At the time he had loathed the idea of going on any mission with the cocky yellow haired idiot that became the Fourth Hokage; but looking back, they really were the best and happiest years of his life. All of those times were now some of his best memories, and he wished that he could repeat them. As far as that went now though, he would just have to wait till he passed on to see his old friend on the other side.

With a sigh Hiashi cleared his mind and turned his attention to the two boys in front of him. They both surprisingly looked kind of nervous. 'Probably because I've been spacing out and they can't tell what I'm looking at. Good.' Hiashi thought with certainty.

They were both wearing their respective combat gear, and they actually looked pretty impressive with it all cleaned up and them being well groomed. Hiashi couldn't help but look at Naruto's eyes though. The Hokage had told him some of what had happened. He didn't know the specifics of the contract the boy had signed with the fox. But he had been assured that it was mostly irrelevant right now anyway, most of it wouldn't need to be worried about for a few years.

Hiashi decided that it was time to start, and hopefully get this over with. "Alright, unfortunately, I cannot stay here all day. So I'm going to have to make this fast." Hiashi said in a matter of fact tone.

"If you have any questions before I continue, now is the time to ask them." Sasuke nodded at this and took the initiative.

"If I may, how was it that Hanabi was initially kidnapped? Weren't there supposed to be branch members guarding her?" Sasuke curiously asked. He had been wondering about that since they first got the mission, but he didn't care enough to ask. Not until now anyway.

Hiashi nodded, it was a reasonable question. "She did indeed have guards assigned to her. However, they were all found dead at the spot where Hanabi was taken. We do not know who did it. It is probable that whoever ambushed them were there to kidnap Hanabi, only she got away and wandered into that part of town. Does that answer your question?"

Sasuke just nodded. He caught a slight tone at the end of Hiashi's question. He was veering into something that was none of his business.

"I have one." Naruto stated raising his hand slightly as he said it.

"Why did you request me? I mean, I'm not complaining or anything, but I'm sure that there were other ways you could have gone about it." Naruto finished with a shrug.

Hiashi just sighed. It was a reasonable question, but one with no definite answer.

"I suppose there isn't any particular reason. It's true; I probably could have hired outside help and gotten the job done that way. Unfortunately I can't tell you why this didn't happen, that is Hyuga family business. But I can tell you the reasons that I chose you and not someone else."

Hiashi then took a moment to gather his thoughts and take another look at the two boys in front of him.

"I chose you because; one, I trusted that you had the resolve to do what should be done, It was also a relief to know that when you did find them that they would die in a way that I would find suitable. I suppose, the reason was that I trusted you to get this done." Hiashi said in his normal neutral and stoic tone.

Naruto just nodded and slightly bowed as a sign of respect to Hiashi.

"Now, on to the reason that I summoned you two here, I believe that payment is due." Hiashi said in a manner that neither of the two boys could decipher.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Hiashi said as Sasuke suddenly sat up straighter as he was addressed.

"I am greatly indebted to you for bringing my daughters rapists to justice. In addition to the respectable amount of funds that will be transferred to your personal account, you also have my gratitude and a favor when you want or need one. Is this acceptable?" Hiashi said in his usual cold tone.

"Yes sir." Sasuke said with a curt nod. Sasuke wasn't expecting, and didn't really want any more than that anyway. Money wasn't really all that important to him. True he didn't have access to all of his families' funds, but it was more than enough to sustain him for the rest of his life. What was he going to do with more?

"Now, young Uzumaki," Hiashi said in a tone that neither of them had heard from him before. It was one that was a slight mixture of respect, and wonder. "I have given much thought as to what to give you. And after consulting your sensei, I have come to a decision on what your payment is to be, I hope it is to your liking."

At this, both Naruto and Sasuke were confused as Naruto would certainly like money. As they were both thinking on this, as if on cue, a branch member walked in carrying a long wooden slender box. This drew even more curious looks from the two boys.

"I think that given your circumstances, you would appreciate something more practical rather than just money. This is a family heirloom." Hiashi said gesturing to the box in front of him. "It has been in my family for three generations, and there is no other like it in existence." Hiashi finished with pride as he opened the wooden case.

Inside was a quite deadly, and in the eyes of Naruto, beautiful bow. It was pitch black and was almost four feet long. Other than that though, it looked quite normal. It had a few seals on it, but nothing that looked all that intricate or complex. But still, there was something else about it. They could all tell that there was something that it was hiding, something sinister. Sasuke thought it suited Naruto perfectly.

As the two boys were admiring it, Hiashi decided to educate them on it.

"It has taken many lives. You see, it has seen combat in both the second, and third shinobi wars." Hiashi paused to examine the look of awe on Naruto's face. "I know that you can tell that there is more to this than what you can see, but I'll leave that to you to figure out. If you are eager to find out, ask your sensei, as he is already familiar to it." Hiashi finished standing up as he really did have other things to attend to.

And with that Hiashi left, leaving the two boys to show themselves out. There was a moment of silence as both of them stared at the deadly weapon in front of them. And then in an almost hesitant way, Naruto reached out and lifted the unstrung bow out of its case. He was no stranger to bows by now. He had made three now, each better than the last. But compared to this, they were just toys.

As Naruto, with practiced hands, strung the bow with ease, Sasuke felt that now familiar feel of unease settle in his stomach, and he hated it. Sasuke had no idea that Naruto knew how to use a bow, combine that with his ghost like stealth, Naruto could kill him whenever he wanted. Sasuke was starting to get pissed. No matter how hard he had worked, Naruto just seemed to out class him in almost everything. It was almost like Naruto was the son of a god or something. The only thing that he felt he was better at was strait jutsus', and it was only a matter of time before Naruto caught up to him in that. Or so he thought.

Sasuke had a just reason to be pissed, and worry, but he wasn't entirely right. Naruto would never be half as good at Genjutsu as he was, and Naruto wasn't quite as good as he thought. But he was close. One day, many years from now though, Sasuke would eventually be the only one that could truly hold his own and stand a chance at beating Naruto, but that would not be for a long time.

Sakura: 

"So, have you decided yet?" Sakura's father asked quietly over dinner. They had talked for a long time, but that had been hours ago. Sakura had spent most of the day in her room just thinking.

At first she asked him for advice, and then he asked her to tell him exactly how she felt and why. This was no easy task as she wasn't entirely sure of it herself, but he helped her through it. After they were done talking, she went to her room to think everything over.

Sakura needed to make a decision. She needed to decide what she was going to do now that she knew what being a ninja actually meant. Naruto was right. No matter what else she did in her carrier, ninja existed to kill other ninja, or just other people. They were living weapons, nothing more. And Sakura needed to decide if she was cut out for it. At first she thought that she wasn't, but then she thought of Sasuke. Her father's reaction to this was understandable.

First of all he didn't like the idea of his daughter being in love at such a young age, especially with Sasuke Uchiha. But that wasn't the only reason. He explained that even if it was true love, she couldn't become a ninja just to be with him. If she did it just for that reason it could never work between them anyway. Sasuke would constantly be annoyed by her, and Naruto would probably kill her the second she was a liability to her team, or at least the kind of liability that came from someone that didn't want to be there in the first place.

No, she needed a real reason, a dream that she could be proud of. The problem was that she had no idea what that could possibly be. She had spent most of her school days obsessing over Sasuke that she had never given much thought to what she had to offer the world. So more or less, she needed to find a drive a will to fight, and she needed to figure it out fast. Her father had given her advice on how to start looking within herself. It was simple really, just try to focus on what she loved, on something that she had a passion for, and see if it could in anyway relate to being a ninja. The only condition her father had given her was that it couldn't be Sasuke that she based it on… easier said than done.

"Yes father, I have." Sakura said in a solemn voice. Both of her parents were looking at her with attention and purpose. This made Sakura a little uncomfortable, but she dealt with it.

"I have decided to commit myself fully to being a shinobi. I understand now why it was originally a bad idea for me to get enrolled like I did, but I'm already involved. If I had felt this way a couple of days ago, I would have given up and quit before I got my teammates killed, but then yesterday happened." Sakura said with a sigh. Her parents still not saying anything, waiting patiently for her to continue and finish her train of thought.

"It's not even what you think. It wasn't killing those people that got to me, it was the people that we had originally set out to find, and kill." Sakura said with another deep breath as she had just admitted to killing someone.

"I can't tell you very much, but I can tell you that they had it coming. They were evil people and deserved everything they got and more, and that is the reason that I will dedicate my life to being a true ninja." She said taking on a new and determined look on her face.

"I don't want what they did to ever happen to anyone ever again. I know I can't stop it from ever happening again, but I can try, and do something about it when I see it. I know that it's a weak answer and probably incomplete right now. But I can work on that as I go on. So for now, it's just going to have to do, I won't let any other innocence be harmed while I can do anything about it." Sakura said with certainty. "I will learn to help and protect and save as many as I can."

There was a moment of silence before both of her parents started to smile.

Hinata:

Hinata was confused, very confused. Her father had wanted to give his opinion about her involvement, and he gave it. Whether or not it was overall positive or negative though, she wasn't sure.

He had basically said that he was proud that she actively participated and made her first kill, and did it cleanly. However that was where all of the positive feedback ended. He finished most of his visit in telling her that she utterly failed in that she didn't participate in killing the ones responsible. She had tried in vain to explain Naruto's logic and the reasoning behind it, but he would have none of it. In his eyes, she had failed, again.

Ever since her mother's death, Hiashi had steadily grown even colder that what was usual for a Hyuga. Eventually it seemed that he couldn't get through a conversation without belittling and/or humiliating Hinata. She was always a shy girl, but it had only made things worse for her.

All of this was on top of everything that she was dealing with, and she was very confused. For the moment though, she decided that she would just trust in Naruto's logic.

'I don't know about everything else, but I do know that Naruto was right about me not helping in killing them.' Hinata thought with a blank, but somewhat peaceful face as this was the first thing she was sure of ever since she had got back from the mission.

After that though, Hinata started to get a little angry. The look on her face was one of utter defiance. She was starting to pissed. She was tired was what it came down to, tired of being treated like trash. But what she was going to do about it, she had no idea.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**I know that this is a short chapter compared to my other ones, but I figured that you guys would like something short rather than nothing at all. And I apologize for my long absence. The truth is that I didn't actually have the internet as I am in the middle of a move. I will work on the next chapter as soon as I can, and get it out much faster than it took this one; hopefully within a week or two.**

**By the way, the whole wave arch is coming up in a chapter or two, and I would like your opinion on whether or not I should keep Zabuza and Haku alive. I have always liked them, and would prefer it that way.**

**Also, something else, in the summery of this story, I stated that there would be eventual NaruHina. This however, is not a NaruHina centric story. While they will obviously get together later on, my story will not revolve around their love life. Ill definitely have a lot of the two of them together later, but it may take awhile as I have other plans, and Naruto will be with other woman before Hinata. (Though all of them will be OC and not have a very big part of the story.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

Naruto didn't spend the night at Sasuke's again. It wasn't entirely for what you would think it would be either. For one, Naruto was worried about whatever vengeance Sasuke would inevitably enact upon him, but no point in letting it happen while he was still pissed off. Two, he needed to grab some stuff from his place, and inspect his new bow.

Naruto knew that it would never be able to be his primary weapon, as much patience as he had while hunting, eventually he would get bored and want go ahead and do it by hand, and that could be dangerous if he wasn't prepared. But still, it would be very useful later on. He even had a few ideas on how he could start to train with it. So with this in mind, Naruto decided to go ahead and head to the training grounds early to test something out.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura was a little worried, it was already late, and neither Kakashi nor Naruto had shown up yet. Sasuke was there, silent as ever though. Sakura didn't talk to him that much though, at least not in her usual fan girlish tone. For whatever reason that just seemed kind of a lame thing to do, there were other, better ways to pursue Sasuke. Sasuke for his part seemed relieved at this.

After a few more minutes, Kakashi arrived with another puff of smoke. Both Sasuke and Sakura just sighed at the whole dramatic entrance.

"Hmm, what are you doing up there Naruto?" Kakashi said in his weird eye smile way while he looked up into the tree that was practically right above them.

Both Sasuke and Sakura froze at this and looked up, sure enough, there was Naruto. He was so still he looked like he was part of the tree. He looked even deadlier than usual though with him having his bow notched in his lap.

They all waited for his response, but he said nothing. After about twenty seconds, he moved and pulled back on the bow, aiming at something unknown to them. Then he spoke, almost as if he was in a trance.

"You have to become your prey, with every fiber of your being. You have to devote yourself entirely to ending, and taking their life. You have to think like them, you have to breathe with them. And finally, know them as good as they know themselves." Naruto finished still aiming seemingly at nothing.

Sakura didn't know what to think. She just looked at Kakashi with a look on her face that clearly said, 'What the fuck?' Kakashi just shrugged and turned his attention back to Naruto. Sakura just shook her head as she saw a similar look on Sasuke's face.

And then without warning, Naruto aimed at a slightly upward angle and let loose his arrow. They all tracked it, and right before it disappeared into the trees, they all caught the sight of one of Naruto's clones right before the arrow impaled it and it disappeared in a small cloud of smoke. Shock was evident on all of the faces present, even Kakashi's.

"Wow." Was all Sakura said as she watched Naruto kind of wake up from his meditative state. She could tell that even Sasuke was impressed.

"Um, what just happened?" Sakura said in a tone that clearly said that she wasn't sure that she believed what she had just seen.

Naruto just smiled one of his honest ones, "I've been at it for a couple of hours. Earlier I made a clone and I've more or less been playing hide and seek with it." Naruto said chuckling. It was actually harder than it sounded. His clone had actually gotten the drop on him a couple of times. Sakura just shuddered at the idea of a game like hide and seek, being transformed into a life and death situation.

"Alright, let's begin today, shall we?" Kakashi said ignoring Sakura's question, much to her annoyance. "But first, Naruto, would you mind surrendering your bow to me? You won't need it today and I'll show you a neat trick that you can do with it." Kakashi said with his weird eye smile.

Naruto was hesitant for a moment, and then unstrung it and handed it over with all of his arrows that were in his own version of a quiver. After a moment of searching, Kakashi produced a blank scroll.

"No watch carefully Naruto." Said Kakashi while he then tied the quiver to the bow and placed it on the blank paper. After a moment, there was a small flash and a puff of smoke. After it cleared the bow was not there anymore. Instead, there was a seal on the scroll.

"Pretty neat, huh? Here, take it. I'll give you a hint, you use your chakra to release it, but you're going to have to figure that one out on your own." Kakashi said with that smile again while Naruto invented a new facial expression that was somewhere between being irritated with Kakashi, and being excited with that neat trick.

"Anyway, let's get started with the training for today." Kakashi said as he was walking away prompting the three Genin to start following him. Naruto started to look excited now.

"Hey Kakashi, what are you going to teach us? Are you going to teach us how to make people explode with our minds?!" Naruto said in a weird expression which gave the impression that he was in his own world.

Everybody paused and adopted the 'WTF?' expression from earlier as they looked at him.

"Err'm, no. I was thinking that I would just start today seeing exactly where you all are." He said in an almost hesitant way as he was still a little creeped out that Naruto thought that that was even possible, or that he knew how to do it.

"Oh, I suppose that that makes sense too." Said Naruto, thus getting even stranger looks from everybody again.

After they were all in the middle of the clearing, Kakashi adopted the teaching pose as he explained what they were going to do.

"Ok, first of all, I want you all to gather as much chakra as you can. I need to see what you capable of right now, and what is possible to teach you, at least for the moment anyway."

All three of them nodded and made the standard ram hand seal. Sakura's chakra level was predictable. It was that of a low Genin; Kakashi assumed that this was attributed to never really doing anything physical to help increase her chakra reserve. That was something that was expected, and something that Kakashi took note of so she could work on it.

Sasuke's level was a little bit above what he had expected. His was that of a solid Chunin. Kakashi knew this was due to actual use of his chakra and demanding physical exercise. Kakashi knew he would have the least problems in teaching Sasuke chakra control.

And then there was Naruto. Kakashi did occasionally train with Naruto, but he had never had Naruto do anything like this before and he had to admit, he was very surprised at the results. Naruto's chakra reserve was at that of a low Jonin. While this wasn't shocking, it certainly wasn't expected.

Basically, Naruto had as much chakra as he did. This did nothing to weaken Kakashi's rank as an elite Jonin; it just meant that he had a lower reserve than was usual for someone of his caliber. Naruto however, already had an insane amount for someone so young. There is a big difference between having a Chunin's reserve, and having even a weak Jonin's reserve. There was an even greater gap between that and a Sanin or Kage. Add that to the fact that a person's chakra development didn't stop until they were almost twenty-five; Kakashi just shook his head in disbelief.

Still, being himself, Kakashi just pretended to ignore it. That is, ignore the bewildered looks that both Sasuke and Sakura were giving Naruto while, with eyes closed and him sweating in concentration, was summoning enough chakra that the air around him had a visible shimmer to it and dust was being picked up.

"Ok, that was about what I expected." Kakashi said in a bored tone as he was reading his infamous orange book. This of course angered all three of them for various reasons.

"Alright, I need all of you to demonstrate your best Ninjutsu techniques. Just go with either your best, or most complicated one." Kakashi said while still reading his book. They all just sighed.

Naruto's was predictable; he just did a lot of shadow clones. Not quite as many as he was probably capable of, but enough to impress him. Sasuke just did his grand fireball thing. As big and impressive as it was, Kakashi could tell that it wasn't really as potent as it should have been. That meant that he would have to work on making it hotter. That technique mastered could potentially glass sand. Sakura was well, less impressive. She did this thing that hardened the leaves nearby and sent them spinning like shuriken. It might be an ok distraction for Genin, but other than that it was more or less useless.

After they had all demonstrated this, Kakashi needed to get an idea of their chakra endurance, and chakra control. This was easily accomplished by asking them to repeat and do their exercises as many times as they could. As Kakashi knew how much chakra they had, and how much chakra was needed for each jutsu, he was able to calculate a ruff estimate of where they were in that manner. The repetition of the jutsu's also helped as with most rookies, their chakra control tended to get worse as they got tired, and or used up their chakra. This was a skill that Kakashi would have to teach to them, although for the most part it was just mental fortitude and learning to keep calm under pressure. Otherwise as they used up more and more chakra, they might end up using two times as much chakra as was actually needed. This in turn could altogether ruin the jutsu entirely.

"Alright, time for lunch." Kakashi said pleasantly. All three of them were shocked as they looked up and saw that they had been at it for almost three hours and it was almost noon. With an audible growl from all of their stomachs, they all accepted it and went to eat. And after a lunch with relatively little conversation, they were back at it.

"Ok, next is Tiajutsu. First, Naruto and Sasuke, the winner will then fight Sakura.

This brought up different reactions on all three faces. Naruto seemed excited, as it was a chance to beat the shit out of both of his teammates with a somewhat valid reason. Sasuke looked relieved as he was eager to finish his match with Naruto from the previous day. Sakura, much to the surprise of Sasuke, looked completely ok with it and even determined. This did not go unnoticed by her teammates.

Naruto's and Sasuke's fight was to say the least, entertaining. It was fast paced, and smart. Kakashi noted that while Naruto did send a lot of clones at Sasuke, it was usually a diversion of some sort to get him to either let his guard down, or just plain wear him out.

Sasuke on the other hand went with mostly his usual routine with a few changes here and there. Mostly the changes were subtle, but Kakashi could make them out. While he could tell that Sasuke was still too proud to completely change his style, and therefore admit that it was obsolete, he did modify his Tiajutsu a little bit, instead of going for the big power techniques, he more than not used quicker, and sometimes more brutal moves and such.

'So in a way, he did take a page out of Naruto's book.' Kakashi thought as he watched out of the corner of his eye. 'hmm, I will definitely have to put some thought in getting Sasuke to where he needs to be, I have a good idea on where I want him to end up, I'm just not sure how to start the process. Now, who will win?' Kakashi thought while giving his full attention to the fight. He also noted, just before he started truly paying attention, that Sakura was watching just as attentively. Not only that, but she wasn't just blindly cheering for Sasuke.

'I know Sakura is smart, so if she is truly devoted she just might be trying to learn from them instead of just being a bystander. In fact, by the way she is watching, and the lack of embarrassment when she was outclassed earlier, I would say that she has finally truly devoted herself to being a shinobi.' Right before the fight really started to get interesting though, something else came to mind. 'She has finally found a reason to become stronger.' Kakashi thought with a pleased expression.

Naruto almost had him; Sasuke was slowly being worn down. As good as Naruto had gotten with Tiajutsu, Sasuke was still better than him. So, Naruto decided that he would just for now go with a strategy that he used when he went hunting. Although, even with Naruto sending wave after wave of clones at Sasuke, he was still beating and repelling them. Naruto never let up, he knew that eventually Sasuke would slip up and let an opening get through or just get worn down.

Kakashi watched with interest. Sasuke was definitely a genius. Even though it had been only about a week since the bell test, Sasuke had already improved. He was using his jutsu's sparingly, only using them as a last resort, and was being smart about everything. He was leaving nothing to chance, and it seemed that if this kept up, he would be able to win by exhausting even Naruto's chakra supply.

At the same time, he had to give credit to Naruto. The boy was a tactical killing machine. Sure, when it came to strategy before an engagement, he really didn't stand out to much. But in the heat of battle, he was coming up with effective and brutal tactics on the fly. Actually, Kakashi was a little worried when he thought about it.

'I suppose I should be grateful that Naruto hasn't found out how to unseal his bow. If he had, I'm sure that Sasuke would probably be dead.'

Kakashi just shook his head at the almost limitless possibilities that could arise from that. So far Naruto had already invented strategies that split up multiple teams that were working fairly well together. And on top of that, Naruto only had so long until Sasuke destroyed his current batch.

'Minato-sensei, you should be proud.' Kakashi thought with a sigh while he looked up at the sky and they quickly turned his attention back to the fight. He could tell something was up, and he voiced it out loud to Sakura.

"Naruto must have figured something out." Kakashi said while resisting the urge to use his sharinggan eye to fully examine what was going on.

"Kakashi sensei, what do you mean? What's going on?" Sakura said quickly trying to catch and take in everything that was going on.

"I'm not sure exactly," Kakashi said as he gestured to the latest wave of Naruto's that came out of some trees charging at Sasuke. "But Naruto must think that he has something because the real one is in there with him." Kakashi said with an experienced eye. Sakura's only response was to pay even closer attention to everything.

It was rather smart of him, but even still; he's going to have to come up with a strategy that doesn't involve him letting himself get hurt.' Kakashi thought offhandedly while he looked at Naruto's new hair cut that was due to a quarter of it being burned off.

'Naruto won, barely.' Thought Kakashi thinking it over; he more or less used his clones to attack Sasuke from two different sides, and then use the rest to form a kind of spear head. After Sasuke had taken out the two squads that had attacked him in a pincer like attack, he only had like two seconds until the last squad was on him. Sasuke had no choice but to use a fire jutsu to take them out. Naruto's clones had taken most of the damage, allowing the real one to punch through and surprise Sasuke. Sasuke, already being tired, didn't really stand a chance. It was moderately close, but Naruto could have killed him if he had wanted to. Instead, he just immobilized Sasuke and forced him to yield.

Possibly the most surprising thing was that afterwards, Naruto helped Sasuke up and Sasuke accepted the helping hand. On top of that, neither of them reacted as if it was anything but normal.

"Alright, we will take a break and then Naruto will fight Sakura." Kakashi said as he picked up his book again.

Sakura had to admit, she was nervous. But that didn't mean that she was going to back out now. 'This was actually the best thing that could happen.' Sakura thought to herself with certainty. All that it meant was that she wouldn't have any choice but to get stronger.

'But before I do that, I think I'll try to ask them both a couple of questions.' Sakura thought to herself before she approached the two of them resting together. Sakura steeled herself for what would hopefully be a painless experience. She would be embarrassed enough to ask for advice without Naruto giving her a hard time.

"Hey Naruto, Sasuke?" Sakura asked timidly. So far the only reactions she had gotten out of them was a small raised eyebrow from Sasuke that indicated that he was listening. And Naruto looked at her curiously as she had never willingly talked to him before.

"I was hoping you two would answer some questions about your fight. I mean, it would be very useful if I could learn to think like you two can." Sakura said finishing shyly which reminded Naruto a little bit of the way Hinata talked.

The thought of Hinata instantly put Naruto in a good mood, and since Sakura hadn't been annoying today and seemed to actually want to be here, he figured that he might as well humor her for now.

"Sure Sakura, what do you want to know?" Naruto said in a somewhat serious tone indicating that he didn't feel like being jerked around for no other reason than to flirt with Sasuke.

Sakura just nodded and started to interview both of them. Actually after a couple of questions, the two boys actually forgot that it was Sakura that they were talking to. Instead they were talking to a teammate that honestly wanted to get stronger. Sakura started by asking Naruto how he was able to think on the fly like that, if she could learn to do that, and in what way was he thinking that he was able to think the way he did.

For the most part Naruto couldn't really tell her a whole lot, but she did get some out of him that she could use. Naruto just said that while he mostly acted on instinct, he said he mostly thought of Sasuke as prey. He was more or less hunting him. He said that he constantly had to adapt to Sasuke's style and such and he just went what made sense to him; he explained that he put himself in Sasuke's position, and then tried to gauge his ability and find a weakness in his defense and style. Also, Naruto mentioned something about anger, but Sakura didn't catch it. All in all, Naruto ended up complimenting Sasuke without realizing it.

Sasuke was, the same as Naruto, hesitant at first, but then he got into it and fully answered her questions. She wanted to know how he hadn't let himself get discouraged with Naruto just sending a seemingly never ending army at him. Sasuke responded that it was simple really; all you had to do was not focus on the problem, but the solution, that you couldn't let yourself think about how hopeless it seemed that you had to concentrate on what you were going to do about it.

Something else that caught Kakashi's attention in all of this was that both Naruto and Sasuke had paid attention to each other as they talked. They were truly acting as a team. Kakashi was very impressed to say the least. They were already starting to truly act like a team. Kakashi remembered that it had taken much longer for him to accept his own teammates back when he was a Chunin under Minato. Kakashi even let them rest longer than was necessary to let Sakura finish and collect her thoughts.

After all of that, it was Sakura's fight. Even though he knew it wasn't going to be that interesting, Kakashi paid attention to it. If for no other reason than to make sure that Naruto didn't kill Sakura needlessly. As much as it may seem unlikely after today, it was still a very real possibility. Even Sasuke watched from a laying down position in a tree.

The fight was predictably fast, and a little more brutal than necessary. Instead of just beating Sakura out right in Tiajutsu, Naruto instead went through the motions and set a trap than maybe for no other reason than to scare and hurt her a little more. It was a relatively simple trap, all Naruto did was make a clone and used it to lure Sakura in to the forest and set up a spring trap that she fell into and was systematically launched and bouncing off of multiple trees.

Sakura was very near unconscious when Kakashi got to her and declared the fight over before Naruto decapitated her as she was hanging upside-down. Kakashi was about to yell to Naruto to stop, as Naruto had just pulled out a kunai anyway, but Naruto instead had thrown it at the wire that had entangled her. As she fell, Naruto tried to run to catch her, but he fell as he was already exhausted from his earlier fight. And surprisingly, it was Sasuke that caught her just in time. After a deep sigh, Kakashi said that it was time for another break.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

It took almost another hour to get Sakura back on her feet. And as Kakashi had suspected from her earlier attitude, she didn't seem to carry a grudge. So, after it was all said and done, it was almost four o' clock. By now, Naruto was starting to get restless again.

"Kakashi sensei, what's next? Do we get to have some kind of battle royal?" Naruto said excitedly. At this, Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke included, just sweat dropped.

"Actually, it's time for your first mission." Kakashi said pleasantly, but with an underlining tone of sadistic glee. Although only Sakura picked up on this, and she wasn't about to complain about anything today.

"No, actually you all get to," Kakashi stalled to build up the anticipation and he could tell it was working as all three of them were slightly leaning forward. "Put some kids to bed." Kakashi said pleasantly as all three of them just face faulted.

On the way there, no one really said anything. Naruto had been expecting something like this, although that didn't really make it any easier to deal with. On top of that, all three of them were already tired and didn't really feel like putting up with a bunch of little kids.

As it turns out, it wasn't the parents of the kids at all that had paid for the mission, it was their maid. Apparently she wanted a night off too. As the maid made a quick exit, Kakashi explained the details of the mission.

"Alright, come on; let's make this as painless as possible." Kakashi said in a bored tone that clearly betrayed his annoyance with the five year old kids that were running around the house. His team obediently, though in a lazy way, lined up in front of him too lazy to stand at attention.

"The kids are old enough to know how to dial nine-one-one, so all you have to do is keep them company till you put them to bed." Kakashi said in a pleasant tone with his trade mark one eyed smile. However, Sakura caught a flaw in his instructions.

"Um, Kakashi sensei, you do mean that all 'We' have to do is watch them for the next couple of hours, right?" Sakura said in a pleasant tone but was obviously some kind of threat. At this her two teammates froze as they realized that Kakashi had just said that they were on their own to deal with the brats. Kakashi just took this in stride and answered in a tone that said that it should be obvious.

"Of course not Sakura. Wherever did you get that idea? If I helped you out on all of your missions you wouldn't ever learn anything from them, would you?" at the death glares that he was getting from all three of them Kakashi decided to make a quick escape.

"Hey, isn't that boy about to break that expensive looking lamp?" Kakashi said in a horrified tone as if he actually cared. While Kakashi wasn't lying about the kid, when they all turned around, Kakashi was gone.

The rest of the evening went about as you would expect from three five year olds. Some of the times being spent on making sure that Naruto didn't let an 'accident' happen. However, Naruto did come to the rescue when it was finally time to put them to bed. Naruto was able to provide a bed time story, and get some revenge without knowing it as the story was absolutely normal to him.

"Alright, we want a story now!" a small brown haired boy yelled as he was tucked in with his brothers as much as possible without suffocating them. However, for the moment the entire team was angry, and at a loss of what to do seeing as none of them had ever had any experience with this before. But, when all seemed lost, Naruto came to the rescue.

"Hey, I've got a story I can tell!" Naruto said excitedly. While the kids seemed excited, Sasuke and Sakura were obviously skeptical.

"You, know a story dobe?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow as he eyed the kids, meanwhile he was debating whether or not to let Naruto traumatize them as they had put them all through hell today.

"I know it may sound kind of bad, but maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea?" said Sakura with a smirk. This of course surprised the two boys. Just as Sasuke was going to say something, one of the other kids spoke out.

"Ya, who wants to hear a story from a deformed forehead girl or an emo boy?!" he yelled accusingly. That was the final straw though, Sasuke took an angry look at the kids and muttered something like, 'Fuck it, I hope they get nightmares." Sasuke also noted pleasantly that Sakura looked like she thought the same thing. And so, everybody settled down as Naruto began his story.

"Alright, this is a really good story because it's true." Naruto said with a serious face. "It was told to me by an old veteran of the second shinobi war. He came by my orphanage occasionally." Naruto explained on a side note.

"Anyway, he told all of us kids about an actual operation that he and his friends were a part of." At this, everybody was paying attention, even Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto cleared his throat and began. "Once upon a time, in Nazi occupied…"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto was in a relatively good mood, aside from being a little sore from the day before. He was fine; of course he also had to get a hair cut to even things out. It was more or less the same style, only shorter. From what he could tell, Sasuke was also feeling it as there was a very slight limp and every once in a while he would rub his neck. Naruto assumed that that was from the hold he put him into yesterday that finished the fight. Kakashi had actually taught him it, only Naruto had slightly modified it so that he could do it while he was in the air.

Sakura on the other hand looked like shit. She was obviously very beaten up as the bruises on her were visible even with her wearing that dress thing. She still had a slight fat lip, and what looked like a possible fractured left cheek bone. For what it was worth, no one complained while they were on the way to the tower to report. They had to give their mission report, and collect a voucher for payment as the Hokage didn't have the money right there. But he did have to sign off on it.

They had just gotten past all of the security that was the anbu checkpoints that led to the Hokage's office. This had always been somewhat of a joke to all of the ninjas in the village, the reason being was that all you had to do was walk up the wall on the outside and you could get right up to the window that was the Hokage's office.

Naruto, now a little impatient as it had taken almost ten minutes to get all the way to the top, ran right up to the secretary and practically demanded that they be let in. although it was defiantly a little rude, it did not warrant the response.

"Hey lady!" Naruto slightly yelled. "We need to see the Hokage now." His whole team winced at the abruptness of it. But Kakashi just sighed and went to talk to the secretary as she was just ignoring Naruto. At first Kakashi just thought that this just a response to Naruto being rude, but it soon became clear that it was Naruto himself.

"Excuse me, can you let the Hokage know that were here to see him?" Kakashi said in a pleasant tone. The secretary looked relieved to see him as she hadn't looked up from her paper work since Naruto had walked in.

"Oh thank god!" the secretary exclaimed in a clearly relieved tone. "If it's not too much trouble, could you please remove this disease from my presence?" she asked gesturing at Naruto. Everybody froze; including Kakashi as Naruto calmly walked up to her desk with what appeared to be a genuinely nice smile. As Naruto spoke, the smile never once wavered from his face.

"You're a fucking ugly bitch, I want to stab you to death and play with your blood." Naruto them let the smile drop back to his normal face and walked back to where he was before. He could tell that Sakura was shaken as she knew that was a valid statement. Sasuke on the other hand was smirking, but he was also confused as to why she would feel that way. In fact, there were very few people that didn't act that way, only he had never seen anyone actually say anything out loud like that. But it was clearly no surprise to Naruto or Kakashi.

The only response the secretary made was to loose all the blood in her face and immediacy let the Hokage know that they were there.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sarutobi sighed and groaned at the same time as he read the mission report from the day before.

'My day is just beginning and I already have a complaint, and have to deal with all the paper work that goes with it. I mean really, how exactly can I punish Naruto if he will never realize that he did something wrong? No matter what happens, he will never understand it.'

Sarutobi took a deep hit from his pipe as he was informed by his secretary, in a shaky tone, that team seven had just arrived for payment and such.

"Alright, let them in." Sarutobi said in a tired tone. After a few moments, all of team seven came in and stood at attention in front of him, excluding Kakashi of course. With a hand gesture the three kids relaxed.

"Ok, I take it that you have read the mission report already." Kakashi said gesturing to said report that was lying open on his desk.

"Yes, but not the individual reports that I hope that all of you have filled out." The Hokage said to the three Genin while he was trying to gauge their reactions to the news that he already knew what had happened. Naruto, predictably, looked as he normally did. His face was set in a slightly intimidating pose, while at the same time he looked almost content. Sarutobi had to admit that it was better than what it used to be. Not so long ago Naruto's face was set in what seemed to be an almost permanent scowl.

Sakura had guilty expression on her face. 'She probably feels guilty about letting it go on and maybe even that she was happy that it happened.' Sarutobi thought to himself while not giving anything away.

But the real surprise was Sasuke Uchiha. He had a look that he was sure no one had ever seen on his face for many years. It appeared that the boy was trying not to laugh. Sarutobi had to admit, it was a bit unsettling to see it on the boys face. It was almost as if it was somehow wrong or something.

And shaking that thought off, Sarutobi went ahead with the rest of it. Although, he was going to confront them about it anyway, as Naruto wouldn't see what he did as wrong, he probably wouldn't get a whole lot out of it, but he would make it clear that, whether or not it was fair, that his teammates were also responsible for his behavior. And that it was their job to at least try to stop him from doing something stupid, as he clearly wouldn't know any better.

So, with that in mind, Sarutobi collected the mission report and proceeded to read it with them still there. That's when Kakashi knew that the Hokage was going to do something. As Kakashi was an experienced ninja, and the three of them were not, he knew that it was very rare for the Hokage to read the report right away. And even if he did, he rarely did it without dismissing said ninjas. Kakashi just took a deep breath and waited for it to start.

It was only a few minutes later, but they were starting to get restless, wondering what they were supposed to do now. Both Sasuke and Sakura gave questioning looks to Kakashi to ask, but he just gave a shrug. And just about before Naruto was just going to blurt out the issue, the Hokage looked up and addressed him.

"It says here that you gave the three of them a bed time story, a rather long one." The Hokage said talking to Naruto directly. Naruto just nodded as it was no big deal to him. However, Sasuke was again, trying not to laugh and Sakura looked like she wasn't that far away from either.

"Ok, well, were their any casualties?" a couple of things happened at once. Naruto adopted a confused expression. Sasuke gave that strange kind of snort when you stop yourself halfway in a laugh, and Sakura was just laughing silently, trying to hide her face behind her hand. The Hokage noted that even Kakashi was clearly grinning behind his mask.

Sarutobi just shook his head and started a somewhat long lecture, which caused a few more silent laughs, into why it wasn't ok to do that to children and what to do to prevent it. After a while Sarutobi had no choice but to let them go as he had a lot of paper work to attend too.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Alright, I know it's a somewhat incomplete chapter, or at least it does to me, but I figure that it's a good way of an apology for my absence for like two months. Am I forgiven? Ill start right away on the next chapter. Just so you know, im planning on starting the Wave arch in the next chapter, so ya, you have something to look forward to. **

**Also on a side note, im going to be adding some stuff to the arch. More fights and such to help advance character development and such. Also because I just like to write about killing. lol**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

It had been another three months and things were starting to get slightly better between the three team members. While they didn't really hang out that much, it was defiantly a lot better than it used to be. Sakura had virtually stopped flirting with Sasuke for the time being as she was too tired and beat up after training to care about anything at all that much. Naruto's and Sasuke's friendship was slowly improving as well; every once in a while after a particularly brutal spar, they would have to hold each other up to get home. On these days, which were becoming more and more common, Naruto would end up staying at Sasuke's.

During all this, Hinata also came over after her training to eat with the team every once in a while. At first she didn't say all that much. She seemed to still be figuring out the whole, 'I killed some people and enabled the torture and death of a family.' Even if they disserved it, it was still a lot to think about. However, Kakashi had the suspicion that she was already over all of this. He was almost sure of it actually; she was trying to figure out something else.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Training was going in a slightly different direction than Kakashi had thought it would, but the results were still there. The funny thing was that he actually hadn't taught them anything, not yet anyway. He was just happy that both Naruto and Sasuke were kind of having fun for the moment. It wasn't all that important to get them all that powerful right now anyway. They wouldn't be able to go on any real missions for a while yet.

'And besides, it would be dangerous if I were to intentionally get them really strong, really fast.' Kakashi thought to himself as he watched Naruto's and Sasuke latest battle, and shivered at the thought of Itachi. For that was what could, and did happen when a child became that powerful that fast.

Kakashi's plan was simple for the moment. He knew from experience that a team was only as strong as its weakest member, and that was easily Sakura. So for the moment, she was his primary attention, well sort of. He would only be able to focus on her for so long. All he really needed to do was get her strong enough to at least keep up with the two boys, after that it would be ok. It was Kakashi's opinion that as soon as Sakura was just strong enough, she was determined enough to go the rest of the way on her own. Although, he honestly didn't know what she would specialize in after she made chunin. Kakashi just sighed, it was still early, and hopefully they would find something suitable for her to make herself more valuable to the team.

So, for the time being he was just strapping on weights and having her run, or try to spar while wearing them. On that note, Kakashi had noted that she was defiantly getting tougher. After about a week of this, she no longer needed to make daily visits to the hospital, as she was becoming harder to hurt. This had some other effects as well though.

Kakashi noted that while Sakura was still giving it her all to get stronger, she was also trying to learn medicine on her own. Kakashi first suspected it when Sakura started showing up to training sessions with a full field med kit, on top of that, she seemed to know how to use almost all of it. Kakashi did some digging, as in tailing her, and found that when she could, she was studding in the library or at home.

Unfortunately, there was only so much that even she could teach herself. She would defiantly get all of the basic stuff down, but more advanced techniques and such required an actual teacher for it. And the med corps required that a shinobi be at least a chunin before they could be accepted.

As for Naruto and Sasuke, their training consisted of pretty much just sparring. While it may not have seemed like much, it was the very best thing the two of them could do right now. Both of them were learning from the other whether or not they realized it. Sasuke was learning to adapt on the fly like Naruto, and leaning how to fight opponents that didn't fight the way he wanted them to. Naruto was pretty much learning the same things, only the other way around. While Sasuke was adapting and learning guerilla warfare from Naruto, Naruto was learning more about how to be a stand up powerhouse type like Sasuke. As you can imagine, their little spars were becoming longer, and more dangerous, though neither of them seemed to be bothered by the later.

This was also one of the reasons that Sakura had started carrying her med kit. Being on a team with Naruto and Sasuke, and trying to keep up with them, she was going to get hurt, badly. At first she was very nervous about it, but a couple of fractures and breaks later, it didn't bother her all that much. While at the same time, she was also starting to give braces, and stitch up the two other boys everyday as well.

Needless to say, they both were very grateful as they didn't need to '_waste time_' on something like going to the hospital to make sure that they didn't have brain damage. After all, who needed to waste time getting a cat scan when there was someone that almost sort of knew what she was doing?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was the start of another day of getting the shit beaten out of her by her two teammates, and she was now almost looking forward to it. It wasn't that Sakura liked pain or anything, she was just happy that there was actual proof of her improvement. The fact that she could take almost three times the punishment that she could before was proof of that. On that note, she could deal out a lot more damage than she used to. Now, when she was able to land a hit on Naruto and Sasuke, she could see that it affected them a little bit. Before, she would just hurt her hand. Recently she even was able to give Sasuke a black eye, and bust Naruto's lip open.

Of course, she was no where close to either of them. Sakura was intelligent, and she knew it. Her parents had ingrained in her that she should never let that knowledge make her arrogant. But she knew that both of her team mates were and would become extremely powerful. Considering that they had only gotten out of the academy a couple months ago, it was just plain ridiculous how powerful they were already. But ever still, she still pursued them in a hopeless attempt to become as strong as they were.

It was amazing all the same on how far she had come. Although she still loved Sasuke, it was no longer her sole purpose in life. Now, she wanted to help the helpless, she wanted to do what so few other people were doing for whatever reason. She had matured enough to realize how childish she was just a few months ago, she was just plain stupid to not only let her life revolve around Sasuke, but honestly think that she could win him over by doing just that. All the same, even as she thought of how childish it might be, she couldn't deny that her feelings were there, and very real. She was still sure that she loved him; she now just realized that it wasn't all that important right now, and it wouldn't be for at least a few years, but she would wait anyway.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

All three of them were waiting as usual at their training spot. It was surprisingly quiet. All of them now knew that it was best to simply rest, and save as much energy as possible. And as usual, Kakashi made his usual dramatic entrance. To Kakashi's annoyance, none of them seemed to be surprised, or even care anymore.

Kakashi cleared his throat, he had something knew to add to today's training. It had been hard to make them, but it would be worth it. It would keep them all interested, and not bored with a usual routine.

"Alright, I have a surprise for you three today." Kakashi said with his eye smile and in a pleasant manner.

Naruto immediately perked up.

"Are you going to take us to an execution?!" Naruto practically yelled out in excitement with one of his scary grins.

While the grin still creeped all of them out a little, that wasn't what they were all thinking about. All of them had the '_WTF?_' expression on their faces, a look that was being used more and more often now days.

"Err'm, no. actually I have something that will help in your training."

Kakashi said bringing out a few weights and bracers. Passing them out as was appropriate. After he was finished, both Sasuke and Sakura were given both bracers, and greaves, while Naruto was only given weights.

"Now before you start asking questions, let me explain." Turning to Sakura and Sasuke, "those are very special and expensive training gear." Kakashi said in an almost regretful tone.

"Those are what are called chakra signature weights. What they do when activated is, depending on your chakra level, they automatically adjust to the appropriate weight needed to make you stronger. They then update them selves as your chakra capacity grows. Not only this, but it's the way that they work that is so effective. They don't just act like regular weights tied to your limbs; instead, they actually put all that resistance, into every muscle movement your body makes.

"Now Naruto, since you already have them on, you are just going to add tie on weights to your arms and legs, in addition to a weight vest. Sakura, as you are already wearing regular weights, you will also wear them in addition to your new ones. Sasuke, after you get somewhat used to them, you will add on regular weights as well."

All of them had different reactions; Naruto was completely ok with it. Sakura looked like she was about to cry, but was just going to tough it out. Sasuke was an entirely different case though.

He was alright with it at first, but his look quickly changed to anger and then one of horror. He was angry at the thought that Naruto was actually a lot stronger than he was when they were sparing, and that he was actually at this point farther behind him. Sasuke had a hard enough time fighting and beating Naruto right now, the thought that Naruto was holding back was infuriating.

"Wait a second; you say that Naruto has had these on all along?" Sasuke said with an irritated tone while he sent a glare at Naruto. It took Naruto a second to figure out why Sasuke was angry, but them he just gave Sasuke a smug look.

And them there was a look of horror on Sasuke's face. At first Naruto was confused as to why, and then it hit him. They were training today, that meant that they were sparing. And while Naruto would be slower and tire faster than normal, it was still nothing compared to what Sasuke was going to be held back by. In other words, Naruto was going to beat Sasuke into a pulp, and there was nothing he could do about it.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It had happened pretty much exactly like Sasuke predicted. Sasuke wasn't going to be able to spar or move for of couple days, and didn't have a choice but to spend the night in the hospital. Sakura couldn't move for two days, and also had to go to the hospital for a night for protein supplements to help her muscles rebuild themselves, even though Kakashi had only made her do katas and forms and such. Naruto, while very sore, was still able to train much to his disappointment. Kakashi made no attempt to hide his amusement at watching Naruto fail horribly in trying to do his own forms. As a lot of them were acrobatic, it wasn't long before Naruto was too tired to do them properly, and ended up jumping in the air, and landing on his head. On top of this, Kakashi had him do this far longer than he normally did.

Thankfully Kakashi had said that they all only had to wear the chakra weights at all times, so they had just left their other weights in the open at the training grounds, silently hoping that someone would just take them.

For the duration of their recovery, Naruto was also staying at Sasuke's place. While he did help Sasuke out somewhat, it was mainly for the reason that his place was closer than either of his other places to sleep.

After a couple of weeks, they were all moving at almost the same speeds they were before. Kakashi instructed all three of them in a somewhat modified version of Naruto's Tiajutsu. It was related to Naruto's grappling techniques. While Sasuke and Sakura were alright at it, it was really just a slightly modified version of Naruto's fighting style.

The moves were designed to work with the acrobatic style that Naruto used. So Sasuke and Sakura would never be as good as Naruto was at it because they were just learning a sort of watered down version of it. The only reason that he was teaching them was so that they could keep up with Naruto until they found a way to counter it. That and it was just good to know.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Missions now days were to say, usually entertaining. Entertaining because Naruto had a no bullshit attitude, and somehow, he was able to get away with it. After a couple of weeks, Naruto had managed to altogether stop people from asking for D rank missions that involved cleaning or them just being lazy. The elderly of course still did, but that didn't seem to bother Naruto that much. As Naruto said,

'Anyone that can survive that long deserves to be able to take it easy.'

Other than that though, the missions were funny to the other two team members. They once had a mission to walk and take care of some dogs that were 'hostile'. All that they had to do was walk in there and all the animals shut up at Naruto's presence. All but one very big one that was trying to save face, he was a giant dog that was snarling at Naruto challenging him. Despite the almost frantic warnings from the people who worked at the kennel, Naruto opened the fence and let the dog out. The dog charged Naruto, but stopped when it made eye contact with him. After a few seconds the giant dog submitted to Naruto and allowed him to pet him.

When the workers shock was evident, Naruto simply shrugged and said that it was an animal thing. All three of them laughed at the looks that this brought up on the faces of all the workers. Another time was when they had to chase a cat; it was actually harder than you might think. Not that it was hard for them to catch it, but it was hard to convince Naruto not to kill it. Sasuke also had a sneaking suspicion that Naruto wanted to eat it as the cat was kind of fat.

Naruto's personality also rubbed off on Sasuke and Sakura as well. They once had a mission to pick up a lot trash in an alley. Because they were all beaten up and wanted to go home, Sakura came up with an amusing alternative. Naruto used his clones to clear the streets nearest, and then Sasuke used a fire jutsu to simply burn everything in the alley. The fire department was not amused though. Sasuke accidently set two buildings on fire. When they gave their report to the Hokage, Naruto in all seriousness said that they had learned their lesson. That it was not a good idea to use jutsus to intentionally light fires in the middle of the village.

"And besides, isn't this what these missions are for? Aren't we supposed to do them so we can learn from our mistakes?" Naruto said in a philosophical tone. Both of his teammates struggled to hide their laughter at this.

However the last straw was when they took a mission to help prevent a baby to stop playing with power sockets.

Flashback:

"Hmm," Naruto thought while he just stared at the power socket. Sakura just rolled her eyes at this. Naruto actually expected the answer to suddenly appear by just staring at the socket.

"Ok, any ideas?" Sasuke asked Sakura with a genuine tone of respect. Sasuke had just recently accepted the fact that Sakura was smarter than either him or Naruto.

While Sakura did find this flattering, at the moment she didn't care. They had just finished another training session and she was pretty sure that she had a cracked rib; she just wanted to go home right now.

"I've got it!" Naruto exclaimed sounding pleased.

Obviously both of his teammates were wary. While they may have been influenced by Naruto, they were still themselves and therefore worried.

Naruto took a sharpie and started drawing on the sockets. When he moved back, they saw that he had kind of turned them into puppies'.

"Umm, Naruto, the baby isn't afraid of puppies." Sakura said slightly bewildered. Sasuke had a similar expression on his face.

Naruto just stood up and struck a dramatic pose. And then with genuine, if not a little aggressive conviction said, "IT WILL BE!"

Sarutobi had no idea what Naruto had done, or how he had convinced his teammates to go along with it, all he knew was that that child would never again look at a puppy the same way again.

Flashback over:

And so, because of Naruto, team seven only got the somewhat fun D rank missions. That is, missions that aren't directly in the village, with as little risk of offending or hurting civilians.

Even with all of this, they were starting to get bored. Or at least Naruto was. As much fun as he was having training, it was starting to get old. The only thing that he had been taught was some more advanced grappling and judo moves. He wanted to start learning some more destructive jutsus.

Luckily, before Naruto got any bright ideas, Kakashi saw what was happening and decided to let Naruto blow off some steam. That is, a mission that let him kill some people, or at least the possibility of it, but wasn't all that risky. The team was certainly strong enough for it now.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sarutobi took a deep drag on his pipe as he digested the information and request that Kakashi had just given him.

"I take it that you have something in mind, or are you leaving that for me to figure out?" the Hokage said while eyeing Kakashi warily.

Kakashi simply gave his eye smile. "I would never do something like that Hokage san. I was thinking that we could figure this out together."

Sarutobi nodded, though he was almost sure that the only reason that Kakashi wasn't dumping all of this on him was because he was the only one who had a real idea of what the rest of the team was ready for. Still, that was something else to consider as well.

"We both know that Naruto needs this, and as long as it is an actual mission I have nothing against it, but what about the other two? Will they be able to deal with it, even with that past incident?" Sarutobi asked going back into Hokage mode.

Kakashi deeply sighed at this. The Hokage was speaking from experience. There was a big difference from going on a mission knowing you were going to kill someone, and killing on a mission that didn't have it set in stone; an example being the difference between going to war, and just being a simple bodyguard. Any carrier warrior of any kind knew the difference, and also knew that killing was just killing, that there really wasn't any difference as to why. But with those new to the trade, the distinguishing between the two wasn't clear yet. Young people usually couldn't tell the difference between knowing the reasons, and killing just end up being incidental, or collateral damage. In the end, killing was killing.

"Honestly, I don't know. I don't think that there really is any other way to prepare them. I know Sasuke will get over it quickly, but Sakura will defiantly be a little shell shocked for a while." Kakashi then adopted a kind of somber and regretful tone.

"And besides, they're teammates with Naruto. Naruto is going to end up putting them in situations that require them to kill for the rest of their lives, or at least as long as they're on the same team. They might as well get used to it now."

Sarutobi nodded at Kakashi's logic. "Well, do you have any ideas on where to start?" he asked Kakashi while pulling out the mission request files.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The team had just finished their sort of short training session for the day. A couple times a week they would only have half day training sessions so they could get missions done. And so, they were standing, or rather slouching in front of the Hokage. Naruto had also influenced them to not care about standing at attention when it didn't suit them. Suddenly Kakashi appeared with a poof of smoke.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." He was about to give an excuse but he saw the threatening looks that he was being given and thought better of it.

"Anyway, we have a surprise for you guys today."

At this, all three of them froze. Kakashi's last surprise wasn't all that great, that is, when he gave them the weights. Kakashi noted the looks they were giving and was inwardly chuckling.

Kakashi just looked to the Hokage.

"You want to give them the good news?" the Hokage just gave a small smile and turned to the three Genin.

"Since the three of you have proven to be able to handle yourselves, Kakashi says that your ready and you seem incapable of taking on any D rank missions," at this he gave them a kind of slight glare that even Naruto winced at. "I've decided that you are ready for a C rank mission." At this even Sasuke's normally gloomy face lit up.

"Alright, let me introduce you to your client." The Hokage said with a slight sigh. Naruto had been wondering for a while where the smell of booze was coming from, he didn't have to wonder any more.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

The first meeting with their client hadn't gone that well. On two different occasions Naruto had to be restrained, the first time by Sasuke and Sakura, the second time by Kakashi. Though, none of them would have felt all that bad if Naruto had killed him, the guy was as far as they could tell a drunk, and an asshole.

Now, two days into guarding him, team seven was disappointed at the mission. It wasn't nearly as exciting as they thought it would be. Though they did get to get out of the village, the excitement quickly wore off as they saw that there was just more forest. Not only that, but there was no action to be had. Naruto now understood that there probably wouldn't be a chance of killing until after they got out of the fire country, and that wouldn't be for another two weeks at least at the pace that they were traveling.

As the days wore on, the Tazuna slowly grew on them. They didn't quite like him, but he didn't constantly get on their nerves either. As they talked more and more out of boredom, he also grew to be wary of Naruto, and discus favorite books with Kakashi.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They had just passed the border of the fire nation, and things were starting to look up. They didn't even travel for more than half a day before they encountered some bandits. Kakashi was actually relieved for once to encounter resistance. This provided the perfect excuse for Naruto to cut loose and satisfy his bloodlust.

"Just hand over whatever have, and we will let you go, simple as that." A bandit in red samurai armor said with a cocky smirk.

There were at least twenty of them so they were confident. Not only that, but Kakashi could tell that they weren't from around here or else they probably wouldn't be stupid enough to try and mug leaf shinobi. These guys were obviously used to ninja of a much lower standard. Kakashi was certain that these men had no intension of just letting them go, one way or another, there was going to be a fight. Not that it mattered; they were all going to die anyway.

Naruto was the first to respond. With a thoughtful look for a moment, he pretended to consider it before he responded with a simple, "No." Sasuke let a chuckle slip out, and even Sakura almost smiled.

The bandit on the other hand laughed, he clearly had no idea who he was fucking with.

"Do you want us to kill you kid?"

Naruto grinned and said in a deep and eager tone, "I want you to try."

The bandit shrugged seemingly unimpressed. "So be it," and then with a sigh he added with tired tone, "Everyone's a tough guy." The guy was so confident that he didn't even wait for his gang to attack and charged forward to Naruto with his sword drawn.

The guy brought it down and tried to split Naruto's head open. Naruto did what seemed to be a simple move and sort of twirled both of their swords before cutting both of his hands off. Naruto waited a second for it to sink in before he impaled the guy through the heart. Naruto didn't even wait for Kakashi's ok before charging the rest of them, Sasuke right behind him.

Kakashi, Tazuna, and Sakura just stood there and watched the massacre taking place before them. Sasuke had a look that told them that he was clearly enjoying himself. Simply put, he was having fun. At this point, these guys were just armatures to him. Naruto on the other hand was practically laughing hysterically. He wasn't laughing at all; it was just look on his face and vibe that he was giving off. His smile was way passed the grin made of nightmares, his grin made him look just downright demonic. Even Kakashi who had witnessed Naruto in action was uncomfortable.

Sakura was just watching. She didn't know why, she just couldn't move. Then Sasuke kicked one of them and sent him flying. The guy just happened to land a few feet in front of them. After a couple of seconds the guy got up, and Kakashi was just about to finish him off before Sakura finally moved. She fluidly moved up to him and executed a move that looked impressive, especially for her. She only hit him three times, putting him in the perfect position for the last part of the move. She kicked the back of his knees putting him in the perfect position for her to bury her kunai in his skull.

The whole thing only lasted like five minutes. Tazuna was in shock and trying to keep his distance from Naruto, and even Sasuke. Naruto was happily wiping the blood off of him while chatting away pleasantly with Sasuke about how much fun that was and how cool the moves each other pulled off were. Kakashi just started reading his book again, apparently just bored with it as they were walking away. Sakura on the other hand was deep in thought and not really paying attention to anything.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That night was awkward for Sakura and Tazuna, seemingly the same for Kakashi as all the other nights, and fun for Naruto and Sasuke. They both were still talking about the fight and how cool it was, and what the next one would be like. After a break in the conversation, Sakura spoke up.

"Im sorry you guys. I was a coward today." Sasuke and Naruto both had a confused expression while Kakashi put his book down and paid attention to the conversation.

After a moment of thought Naruto spoke up. "You're not a coward Sakura, true you froze, but you did act later on, and it wasn't out of pure need, you could have done nothing." After another moment of thought, Naruto looked back up and started again.

"I think that you just haven't realized all of what being a ninja means yet, but I do think you will figure it out." Naruto said with a shrug stopping there.

After a moment of silence while Sakura was waiting for him to elaborate, Naruto went back to his food. Sakura, realizing that Naruto thought the conversation was over, started to get annoyed. Sasuke, also waiting, reached over and slapped Naruto over the back of the head and gestured towards Sakura with a look of annoyance when Naruto was just about to deck Sasuke back.

After a moment of confusion, Naruto realized why he did it and smiled while rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, um, sorry." Looking back at Sakura, Naruto finished what he was saying. "Sakura, I didn't smell any real fear on you today. Not that anything was out of the normal, which means that it was hope that was holding you back."

This obviously got strange looks from everyone including Tazuna, but not Kakashi who knew what Naruto was getting at.

"Sakura, we're ninja. We're already dead. Everyone's afraid when the go into combat, hell there's even a small part of me that's afraid, it's an instinctual reaction to it. It was hope that you would come out of it alive that caused you to freeze. Like I said, were already dead, you just need to accept that and you will be able to do so much more. All you have to be aware of it so you don't needlessly throw your life away. Just remember that while you may die, use your anger at the fact that they are trying to take away everything that you love away from you and use it to rip them apart."

At that, Naruto went back to his food, leaving a stunned Sakura, an impressed Kakashi, and a thoughtful Sasuke.


	16. Chapter 16

_**In this chapter I used a quote from one of my favorite movies of all time, guess if you can figure it out. I did however have a reason for using it, I felt that I made a lot of sense about a point that I was trying to get across. **_

_**And besides all of that, it's my story, so HA!**_

**Renegade Ch.16**

Sarutobi sighed; he had just gotten through yet another council meeting. He was too old for this. Budget meetings, peace treaties, all of it were and are a younger man's game. In short, he was just tired. All that he reasoned was that he was able to do it was because he didn't have a choice but to.

'Strength is born from necessity.' Sarutobi thought bitterly. It was one of the many lessons he learned from the first two Hokages'.

And now the hard part of the evening. Just after the meeting had ended, he had asked Danzo to stay for a word in private. The two of them just stared at each other for a moment, doing the whole dominance thing. Sarutobi inwardly growled as this was yet another thing that he was too old for, so he just got right to the point of this meeting.

"I know you were behind it Danzo. I don't have any proof, but I know you did it. I do not however know why, I would assume the boy is progressing almost exactly the same way you would like him too." The Hokage said with a voice of authority.

Danzo just raised his eyebrow, he knew what he was talking about, but he still didn't want to give anything away.

"Sarutobi, I have no idea what you're talking about." He said calmly.

The Hokage visibly sighed and looked at him and continued in a no bullshit tone.

"I am talking about the incident involving Hanabi Hyuuga. I don't know why you did it, Naruto is just about bloodthirsty enough without being a liability, and you know that. You didn't need to do it. All in all though, it doesn't matter. If something like this ever happens again, or if I ever get any solid evidence that links you to this, I will kill you. Legal or not, you will die." The Hokage reinforced this statement with genuine killing intent, showing that he was dead serious. He knew that Danzo would never in any way acknowledge that statement, so he just dismissed him. He did what he wanted to do; he got a point across and was sure that Danzo knew he meant it.

Danzo did indeed have another intention with that whole thing. He was confident he would have Naruto, he just had to wait, but if he could, he wanted Sasuke too. He didn't need him like he needed Naruto. Naruto would play a big role in his plans, when he got him, victory would almost be assured. Especially considering how powerful he would become.

Danzo was fairly confident that by the time Naruto reached the age of twenty five, there would be very few shinobi that would actually prove to be a real threat, Sasuke eventually being one of them. So if he could get Sasuke as well, the pair would more or less be unstoppable and his pawns as well.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto knew that something was wrong. He could sense the killing intent, and it wasn't like those bandits from a week ago either, this was the real deal. Sasuke was able to pick up on Naruto's aura without realizing it and was on alert as well. Sakura wasn't that good yet though.

Unbeknownst to them, was that they had walked by a puddle that only Kakashi had noticed there to be anything of note. Kakashi was going to let it play out; Naruto would probably enjoy it anyway. 'Actually, Sasuke probably will too.' Kakashi thought a bit thoughtfully.

Suddenly, two razor sharp chain linked claw things shot out and wrapped around Kakashi, a moment later he was torn apart. No one else hesitated though, not even Sakura. Before Kakashi was killed, they had already sprung into action. Sakura moved back Tazuna and stood between him and the danger. Both Sasuke and Naruto were in front of her spread apart a little.

The two enemy ninja wasted no time in attacking and immediately set upon both Sasuke and Naruto judging that they were the greatest threat. Sakura moved both her and Tazuna farther back as the other two attacked the two ninja. They both did pretty much the same maneuver to start with; they both ducked and moved a little out of the way.

Naruto actually ended up jumping to the side of the road aiming for a tree. As soon as he reached the tree he pushed off of it with his feet and shot back towards the ninja that was going after him. The ninja, while not expecting Naruto to counter attack the way he did, still had sent his chain at Naruto expecting to impale Naruto in mid air. This was not a smart move as they were not too far apart, leaving him wide open if he somehow missed. Naruto maneuvered in mid air and dodged the chain, it appeared that he actually stepped on the chain as it went past and pushed off of it to propel himself forward. While this wasn't true yet, as Naruto didn't know how to use his chakra like that, he also was not in the right position to use the natural g-forces to run along something like that.

Never the less, they were close enough for Naruto to use the momentum that he had to attack. The ninja, being in a mild state of shock that a child had been able to do that, could not react in time as Naruto used his sword to diagonally cut his head in half. Naruto was on guard for a movement after wards to figure out where the other one was. Naruto almost joined in as he saw that Sasuke was in real danger of dying as he was fighting someone who actually knew what he was doing. But after a second of watching, he saw that Sasuke had it under control, enough at least to be able to hold his own.

And so with that, Naruto turned his attention back to the man he had killed. The part of his head that had been separated, and actually had one of his eyes unharmed in it, caught his attention. He could see that the guy's brain clearly wanted to slide out, but the membrane was holding it in place for the moment. After a few seconds, and Naruto watching in fascination at the pooling of blood that came out of for the most part of the main body. The brain was finally successful in liberating itself and it cleanly slid out, though most of the membrane was still attached and hanging out of the skull.

Sasuke had a slightly harder time than Naruto. He wasn't as fast, or had the dexterity that Naruto had, so he couldn't counter attack the same way that Naruto did. But all the same he knew that he had to end this quickly, the only reason that these Chunin weren't going all out on them was because they saw them as rookie Genin children. It wouldn't take that long though for them to figure out that they were above that level and for them to really make this a bad situation for them. After all, they were Chunin, and a lot more experienced than them.

Sasuke knew that he could just go on the defensive and hold this guy off until Naruto could back him up. But he didn't know if Naruto would be able to, or if he was even alive. So with that in mind, Sasuke went on the offensive with the plan to kill him as fast as he could. That was the main reason, but he would be lying to himself if he didn't admit that the fact was that no matter how dangerous this was, he was still having a blast, and he wanted to do this on his own.

After the initial move, Sasuke did a tuck and roll, drawing two kunai as he did. He knew the ninja was going to send that chain claw weapon at him, and so he acted on that assumption, following his gut instinct that it was the right way to respond. He was right; as soon as he jumped high he saw the chain shoot below him where he just was. Sasuke threw both of his kunai, one where the ninja was, another in the direction he didn't want the man to go too. Luckily, he went exactly where Sasuke wanted him too. Even still, his strategy had only just begun.

The ninja was in a good position to attack Sasuke now though, and he did. Sasuke used a substitution jutsu though and was replaced with a log. In that split second while the ninja was distracted by getting the log off of his chain. Sasuke made a simple clone and put it in the perfect position. The ninja saw that he didn't have enough time to draw in his chain before Sasuke could attack him, so he charged the clone. Just as he realized his mistake, Sasuke used his grand fireball jutsu to try and turn him into charcoal. He was only partially successful. The enemy ninja did dodge the attack, but not before the epicenter of the fire engulfed his left arm and most of his torso.

Sasuke looked on in mild fascination as the man was in obvious agony as he was dying. His arm looked like burned hamburger that was falling off piece by piece. It only took about another fifteen seconds for the guy to go into shock, and he didn't wake back up.

Their immediate priority was to make sure that both Tazuna and Sakura were ok.

Tazuna was ok, Sakura wasn't. As soon as she saw that both the enemy ninja were down, she practically collapsed from the pain she was in. they both rushed over to her, to see what was wrong.

"Sakura, where does it hurt? Tell us how to fix you." Sasuke said in barely calm tone, to his surprise, he was very concerned about her. Sakura coughed up a little blood.

She then took a shaky breath and in a calm tone, as she was trying to stay calm.

"In their initial attack they sent a few needles towards Tazuna. I was able to knock a few away, but I had to take two of them to make sure that he wouldn't be hit.

Both Sasuke and Naruto shared and exchanged shocked looks.

"I need you two to dig them out right now, there's one in my stomach, and one in one of my ribs."

Both of the boys' immediately took one of them, and as carefully as possible, dug them out. Meanwhile Kakashi was observing their behavior with interest.

After a few minutes, while Kakashi didn't let Tazuna go anywhere, making sure that Sakura would be ok for the moment, and letting everybody know that he wasn't dead. And for that matter, explaining why he had pretended to be dead. Everybody's attention was centered on Tazuna.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I, I can explain!" Tazuna practically yelled with panic. His fear was not unwarranted, despite how much fun the two Genin had had, everybody was pissed, and seething out killing intent.

"You'd better fucking believe you can mother fucker." Kakashi growled out in a somehow soft, but yet deadly tone.

Kakashi's reason for being pissed was obviously out of concern for his team, and students, particularly Naruto. Even though Naruto didn't need to be sheltered at all, Kakashi thought of him as a surrogate son, at least he would now that he could be an active part of his life.

Naruto and Sasuke were mad for more or less the same reasons. While they both had enjoyed that a lot, they both thought that it was pretty fucked that they had been lied to like that.

Sakura would have been pissed for the same reasons as her two teammates, but they hadn't willingly taken two poison needles for a liar. She wouldn't have minded if it was just a coincidence, but it wasn't, they had targeted him on purpose. He was the one they were after.

Tazuna could tell that there was no way that any lie would satisfy them, so he needed to come clean; otherwise he was sure that they would kill him right then and there.

And so, with a deep breath he started to tell them everything, and I mean everything that he thought could give him a better chance to get out of this.

Every one of them was quiet after he finished, a good sign for him. Kakashi decided that they needed to rest for the night, or at least make camp before a big decision like this could be made. Kakashi honestly wanted to help the guy out. As much as he was still pissed at the guy, he honestly wanted to help him out. Though Kakashi also knew that a part of that was just a natural desire to obey his conscious, something that he had not been able to do for a long time.

However, he could, and wouldn't make this decision without his teams consent, and their willingness to also want to help the guy. It was decided that night as they sat around the campfire, with the security of knowing Naruto had dozens of his clones scouting, and just standing guard. And so, as they all were still in their own heads, Kakashi told them their options. They could continue on if they wanted, though it had to be a unanimous decision, or they could head home.

Kakashi first turned to Sakura, he didn't want her to be influenced in anyway, and this needed to be her decision. Sakura just sighed.

"I vote that we help them out. I understand why he did it; he had to do what he had to do. I know it's the right thing to do, and I want to help. And as for the danger," she hesitated and felt her bandages, "I honestly don't care anymore. It's all the same to me now."

That was all Sakura had to say, you could tell that she was very tired. After a few minutes of examination earlier, she figured out the exact poison that was used. It was a fairly common poison meant to cause extreme pain, and an eventual shut down of the nervous system. Luckily, since it was so common, the cure was common as well. So she did have plenty of it in her med kit.

Next up was Sasuke. With a deep concentrated scowl, he began his input into it.

"I suppose it would be the right thing to do. I have nothing against the guy for lying; I would have done the same. However, I don't really care one way or the other, Naruto what's your take on it?" And with that, Sasuke turned to Naruto; it was all on him now.

Kakashi knew that it would come to this; he knew it from the beginning. Sakura's choice was practically a given. Sasuke was a lot harder though, Kakashi knew that his cold demeanor was no longer just a front, or a defense mechanism, it was who he really was now. If Sasuke was ever to soften up to anything, it would only be if Naruto did too, and vice versa.

For a little while Naruto didn't say anything, he just stared into the fire. Kakashi only had an idea of what he was thinking of. Naruto was actually for the first time having an inner struggle with himself. It was a chance to act upon a conscious that he had practically never used. Naruto's true conscious, if it had never been hampered by his upbringing, would only have been slightly different than everybody else. The only thing that would have been different was that he would have to understand, and forgive everyone for being afraid of him.

(It's actually a natural phenomenon for some people to be creeped out by killers, psychopaths, sociopaths and so on, on a subconscious level they know that they are somehow dangerous, no matter how they act. I think it's got something to do with a defense mechanism to protect one's self from predators or something like that.)

And so, the struggle had been going on for hours in Naruto's head. He knew it was the right thing to do, but it wasn't beneficial for him to do anything about it. Why should he care if some stupid country that he had never heard of was being oppressed? That kind of shit happened all of the time. Or was it beneficial? Not only would it be acting on a conscious that he knew somehow would make him feel better, but it would be a chance to prove that he wasn't the type of monster that everyone thought he was. Even still though, Naruto really didn't care what other people thought of him, there was no way for people to think less of him anyway.

So that was the argument that was going on in his head. It was all decided though when he randomly thought of Iruka. Naruto wouldn't realize this for a long time, but it was the part of him that wanted to be more human that summoned this memory. Naruto remembered Iruka's face as he said two of the most influential words Naruto would ever hear, 'Earn It,' And with that, came a random line that Naruto would try to live the rest of his life by.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Naruto suddenly spoke up,

"Live for nothing, or die for something."

Both Sasuke and Sakura were utterly shocked, that was the last thing they would ever expect to hear from him. Kakashi just did his eye smile thing, being genuinely happy at his decision, and the epiphany that Naruto had just had without realizing it. In short, Kakashi was proud of Naruto.

Sasuke thought for a second, and nodded in agreement, apparently it made sense to him too. Sakura just sighed and shook her head; she had more or less given up on experiencing anything that should be normal. And with that, it was decided.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

It had only been three days since the attack, and things had more or less gotten back to normal. Or at least what was normal for them.

Kakashi told them all that they had all reacted exactly the way should have, but there were a couple things that they could have done better. One of which was release the chakra restraints they had on. They all kind of face faulted at this. They had gotten so used to them that they forgot they were wearing them, and thus eliminating the reason and benefit for wearing them in the first place.

While they didn't train without them, they definitely wouldn't forget that again. They weren't training on this trip, at least not yet. They couldn't afford to be tired when more fights were all but guaranteed. And so, they just kept formation, and made small talk until they reached their destination.

**XXXXXXXXX **

They were all on alert, always, they now knew the danger of letting your guard down when there were enemy ninja after you. However, Kakashi was the only one to sense the attack, and only just gave the order in time for his team to not get their heads cut off.

Instantly they set up a defensive formation around Tazuna, all but Kakashi who looked to be in an almost relaxed pose. He was looking into the eyes of a man standing on the hilt of a giant sword. Even Naruto was taken aback at the site of him. Kakashi was just as dangerous as this man, but none of them had ever actually seen a man that was this lethal, at least not someone that was trying to kill them.

"Kakashi Hitake, it's a pleasure, and an honor." The man said in a deep sinister tone.

"Zabuza Momochi, I honestly wish I could say the same." Kakashi said not missing a beat.

Then they felt it, the killing intent of two elite Jonin about to be locked in mortal combat. Even Naruto, who had faced the fox, was shocked that this feeling could be created by humans, and they hadn't even started fighting yet. It was suffocating to all of the three Genin; Tazuna was simply frozen in terror at the moment.

"I'll admit that I'd rather not fight you, at least not right now. I have a time frame and a job to complete. Think about it," Zabuza said as both he and his sword seemingly appeared on the road in front of Kakashi.

"You have a rookie team, raised in a pathetic environment for ninja," Zabuza then looked at them and stopped for a moment. Kakashi knew what was coming now, and he was going to let it happen. It was going to happen anyway, sooner or later. This was the moment to do something though; he was good very, very good. But so was Zabuza, you don't even get close to pulling off a coup without being one of the best. This fight would take everything he had.

However, there was a silent treaty between him and Zabuza at the moment. Zabuza saw something in Naruto, he knew exactly what it was, he knew that Kakashi knew that he had noticed it, and he was asking without saying anything if he could go ahead and say his piece. The only reason that Kakashi was going to let this happen was that Naruto needed to hear it. If it went badly, Kakashi might have to kill Naruto, but it was better than wining this fight, and one day having to deal with Naruto when he became even stronger than either of them.

For most shinobi, there was no honor among enemies', and there never would be. However, that was one very big difference between most shinobi, and the best of them. You didn't become that strong without being driven by something, and not just anything. Every ninja wanted to be that powerful, but only a select few ever did. The best saw this in each other, and couldn't help but respect it, for only they could comprehend the sacrifices the other had made to get to that level. Even if they hated the other for other reasons, it wasn't possible to not respect it.

That was what was coming into play here. Normally, the fight would have started a long time ago. But right now, both of them knew what was going on, how rare it was, and had enough respect for the other to understand that the killing could wait a few minutes. Not that they would lower their guard, but neither would start it until the decision had been made.

None of the Genin knew what was going on though; all that they knew was that the killing intent had subsided for the moment. It was still very real, but not as potent. But then something else happened, Zabuza's aura changed, sort of, it wasn't that it wasn't killing intent anymore, but it was now laced with something else. It was a few moments, and then Zabuza made eye contact with Naruto, and they knew each other.

With a gasp, so did Sasuke and Sakura. They knew that aura for somewhere, it was just familiar somehow. And then they figured it out, it was like a refined and purified version of the aura Naruto always had, always. All killing intent is the same; you pick it up and learn it yourself. But this was something else entirely; you could not learn that, it was something you were born with. They were the same.

Naruto's first reaction was actually joy. He had denied it for a long time, but the fact was that he was lonely. He always knew he was different; he couldn't be like everyone else, even if he tried to be. He didn't think of it as clearly as this, but he thought that he was the only one of his kind, a freak. He knew that it wasn't normal for people to take joy in killing, and yet yearn for companionship the same way other people did. It almost contradicted itself, but that was the way it was.

Naruto was at peace for the first time in a long time, he didn't know why yet, but he was relieved for some reason, like a weight that he hadn't even known was there was suddenly lifted.

Neither Sasuke nor Sakura understood what was going on, and Tazuna was still frozen in terror.

"When I was thirteen I took my final test to become a Genin in my home village. Unlike what your pansy ass tests are like, ours was a lot more practical." Zabuza said not breaking eye contact with Naruto, his voice still deep and sinister.

"Our final test was to kill someone, and not just anyone. The entire graduating class was spit into pairs, and we either killed each other, or we both died."

A ghost of a smile graced Naruto's lips. 'That sounds like my kind of test.' Naruto thought with pleasure. But there was one thing that stopped it from turning into a real smile, though he wasn't consciously aware of it. What if he had to kill Hinata, or even Sasuke? Sakura would not become really important to him for a while yet. All of this wasn't lost on Zabuza though, there was a reason he wasn't breaking eye contact with Naruto.

"I know you know what I mean when I say that I hated them, all of them. Every single one who took the little we had for granted. At least they weren't outcasts, at least they were wanted." Naruto almost cringed, and for that matter, so did Kakashi, in his mind, he would never live it down that he had done nothing.

"So, I went ahead and killed them all. I killed over a hundred of my classmates that day, it is one of the few fond memories that I have of that place." Zabuza said in an almost nostalgic tone.

"For that deed, I was given the title of the Demon of the Mist. Since then, I have earned that title many times over. I am telling you this for a reason." Zabuza's eyes hardened in a way that Naruto liked.

"I know you hate them, so why not come with me? I can't give you companionship; it's not possible for our kind. But I can give you the means to make them regret what they did to you. I can give you a place where not only will you be understood, but accepted. I can give you a place that you will know that you belong."

All was dead silent for almost three minutes, and in that time, no one moved a muscle. For the moment, Sasuke was simply intrigued, fear forgotten for the moment. Sakura was smart and fully got what this guy was offering Naruto, how much it would appeal to him, and how dangerous Naruto would be if he did end up leaving with them. On top of all that, she couldn't believe that Kakashi was letting this happen.

Kakashi on the other hand was just waiting along with Zabuza for Naruto's answer. He knew that someday Naruto would have to make this choice anyway. He had really hoped that it wouldn't be for another couple of years still, but he knew that Zabuza wasn't going to let it go when he saw what Naruto was. It was so ironic, Zabuza had no idea that Naruto was a Jinchuriki, but he still knew how valuable, and how rare Naruto was. While Kakashi was sure there was a part of Zabuza that actually wanted to comfort, and help him out. He above all people would have the closest idea of what Naruto's life was like, being a sort of kindred spirit and all. But that wasn't what Zabuza was after, he wasn't looking for a son, he was asking if Naruto wanted to come and fight for and die for him. The only thing that Kakashi was thankful for was that Zabuza wasn't lying about what he was after.

"Three months ago I would have taken up you on your offer. But I don't agree with one thing you said, because I have a small piece of it. I'm sure that you have a dream or ambition of some kind, well I do to. I want to be happy, utterly content. And if you are truly ok with being alone without companionship, then we are not the same.

"I don't believe that people like us can't have those things, and even if we can't, even if it truly is impossible, I'll be damned if I don't at least try to have at least a small piece of it. I don't give a shit for everybody else in my village, from now on, assuming I survive this, I take care of me and mine." Naruto finished with a look of actually being at peace with himself. Again, Kakashi was proud of him. "Besides, I have to keep a promise."

"So be it." And with that, it started faster than the three young Genin could follow with their eyes.

_**Seriously, review people. I can't make this story better, or at least tweak the details to make it better if you don't help me out. And besides, I'm actually proud of this story, so I do enjoy knowing that other people enjoy the story.**_

_**Oh, by the way. I recently was shifted to a graveyard shift. That means that the nights I have off, it's actually irresponsible for me to go to bed before 5am. In other words, I'll probably be updating more as I don't have a life lol. **_


	17. Chapter 17

**Renegade- Ch. 17**

Zabuza disappeared, and reappeared right in the middle of the three Genin. Before any of them could react, Kakashi appeared with a kunai in Zabuza's heart. At this point, the three of them moved Tazuna back several meters as they didn't know what else to do.

Zabuza turned into water, then Kakashi was cut in half, and he too turned into water. The Genin didn't know what to do other than watch, and what a sight it was. The two of them were seemingly teleporting from one area to another, at least that was what it looked like to the three of them. Five minutes later, Kakashi was bested.

Kakashi was apparently trapped in a sphere of water, apparently not able to move. It might take hours, but all Zabuza had to do was stand there and wait.

"Get out of here; get as far away from here as possible!" Kakashi barely got even that much out.

Team 7 shared a look, and all of them nodded. Zabuza didn't say a thing, suddenly, three clones popped up around him. Sakura got one of them, Sasuke got the other ones. Naruto sprinted towards Zabuza and Kakashi faster than he had ever run before. While Sakura and Sasuke bought him time, he released his chakra restraints. Naruto was not visible to Sakura, Sasuke could see him alright, Zabuza and Kakashi clearly saw him.

Zabuza's sword was twenty feet away, that was the main reason that Kakashi was in his present predicament. Kakashi knew that Zabuza could fight without his massive sword; he just underestimated how well he could.

Zabuza knew about Kakashi's eye, anyone in this trade who wanted to have a chance at survivng more than a month studied the shinobi in the bingo books, the ones that were truly dangerous, the ones that they should run away from on sight. Or at least give them a chance at surviving. Zabuza was avoiding making eye contact at all costs, his life depended on it.

Kakashi knew what his mistake was; it was that Zabuza's strategy depended on making Kakashi think that separating him from his sword could play a big part in making him easier to kill.

If Kakashi got out, he would not make that mistake again, or for that matter any strategy that was remotely like it. Zabuza knew this, that was why it was so important to not let Kakashi out. Unfortunately Naruto could possibly do just that though.

Zabuza honestly didn't want to kill the kid, there were so few of their kind around. But the second he had Kakashi trapped in the water prison, he saw a look on Naruto's face. Zabuza knew what that meant; it meant that the man he was slowly killing was the first person in his life to give a damn about him. Zabuza had never had that, but he understood what it meant. It meant that no matter what, there was no where he could go that he wouldn't find him. Not for vengeance, but to make sure that justice was served. People like them didn't, couldn't believe that the dead cared about vengeance. But did believe that the people that they cared about disserved the same justice that everyone else in the world got to have. The people that ended the lives of the people that they cared about, or even loved, those people could only be put on trial by someone who actually had a reason to make sure that it actually happened.

Zabuza had a gut feeling that this boy would eventually be able to swat him like a fly, and for those reasons, he was going to kill him. Even if it meant loosing this contract, and letting Kakashi go, this boy had to die. When Naruto was ten feet from them, he did something that he didn't have to do very often. He summoned his sword. His sword couldn't teleport, but special seals on the sword and on his body allowed him to summon his sword to come back to him. Kakashi actually figured out was going on right before it happened. For whatever reason Naruto did not use a shadow clone, Kakashi could tell because of his sharinggan, Naruto used his sword to try and cut Zabuza's arm off. It almost seemed like he was going to also, then Zabuza got his sword and slashed Naruto diagonally from his right shoulder to left hip, cutting through his sword in the process. Right before Naruto rocketed away, Kakashi saw about a liter of blood spray out.

Then a shadow clone jumped out of the water, he lit an explosive tag the moment he was out of the water. If Naruto hadn't gone into shock, passed out, or died, as Kakashi didn't know which one it was yet, Naruto would have planted that note directly on Zabuza's back. Zabuza's eyes rose, and then made that peculiar motion when you smile; he was actually impressed, and amused that he had been defeated by a thirteen year old, 'that kid was going to be one of the best one day. Well played boy.' Those were Zabuza's thoughts before the clone disappeared and gave him a spit second to get the hell out of there.

Naruto flew a good forty feet before he almost slammed into a tree. If Sasuke hadn't caught him, his skull probably would have been pulverized. Sasuke cushend the blow though, saving Naruto's life. As Sasuke was barely staying conscious, he looked to see if Naruto was alive, Naruto was, barely. Naruto just looked at him, smiled a bit and kind of rasped out,

"See you on the other side fag." And with a small smile, he closed his eyes, and stopped breathing.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Plop,_ a drop sounded in the darkness. 'Oh shit.' Naruto thought, he knew this place, and it was the last place he wanted to be.

Now, standing before the most powerful demon in existence, he was curious more than anything else right now.

"_**So, pathetic little one, you have done something stupid again I see." **_The giant fox rumbled out in annoyance.

"Am I going to die?" Naruto asked wanting to just get to the point, he had too much on his mind right now to have to deal with the fox humiliating him.

"_**No, your body isn't actually as damaged as you'd think, there was a reason I told you to get that armor."**_ The fox said getting the message and actually agreed with Naruto in his thought that he didn't need to be stressed out. Just because he wasn't going to die, didn't mean that he should intentionally stress out, and thus slowing down his recovery. Not while there was someone like that Zabuza around. And besides, he was about to be stressed out enough as it was.

"So, what do you want?" Naruto asked genuinely curious about what this was about.

"_**Oh nothing much, just thought you should know that I've decided to activate a bit of the contract you signed with me."**_ The fox said while doing a rumbling chuckle. Naruto paled. That was something unexpected. He had actually forgotten that there were other conditions that he didn't know about on that thing. He now remembered that there was a lot of writing on that giant scroll, a lot of it.

"Am I going to change again?" Naruto asked softly. It was the only thing that he could think of as that was what had happened the last time.

"_**No, the next step in the contract is going to happen soon, its unavoidable at this point considering the events that just happened. I just want you to let Kakashi know, so that he doesn't kill you out of panic. Tell him what I said, he will know what's going to happen."**_ And with that, Naruto slowly faded away until it was pitch black, and Naruto knew no more.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

'Bacon, I can smell bacon, I'm alive!' Naruto thought and tried to sit up only to find that he was tied to the bed.

"What the hell?"

"We knew you would try to do something stupid when you woke up, so Sakura decided to tie you to the bed." Sasuke said as he was laying in the bed right next to his.

"Sasuke, is Kakashi alright?" Naruto asked almost desperately.

"Ya, he's alive. He's in bad shape, just like the rest of us, but he'll live. Stop trying to get out of the restraints dumbass; you'll rip your stitches out. And besides, Sakura said she would crucify you to the bed if she had to." Sasuke said in all seriousness. He was telling the truth too. Sakura was the reason that any of them were alive actually. Kakashi was too exhausted, Naruto was dying, or rather actually dead at the time, and Sasuke couldn't move due to a few broken bones. And according to her, she had worked way too hard to let all of it go to waste because he was an idiot.

Sasuke went on to describe the events after Naruto had passed out. And the following two days that Naruto had been sleeping. The explosive note did the trick, and as far as Sasuke could tell, as he wasn't able to see all of the fight, it was epic. Sasuke also took the opportunity to tease Naruto about how he had seen both of them create dragons ten meters high made of water. However, Kakashi later told him that Zabuza wasn't dead after all; he was pretty fucked up though.

Sasuke also gave Naruto the bad news, his armor was totally fucked. It was almost worthless now; all he could do now was salvage the metal parts. Not only that, but his sword was now all but useless as well. That pissed Naruto off; he remembered how hard he had busted his ass to get that shit.

"Naruto, can you tell if anyone's near, or coming?" Sasuke asked in a very serious tone. Naruto got it, he had something important to ask, or say. Naruto concentrated hard on his senses and listened as well as smelled to try and see who was near.

"You're good for now." Naruto said just as serious. Sasuke just nodded.

"You've known Kakashi for a long time, have you ever seen him lift up his forehead protector to reveal his covered eye?" Sasuke asked almost hesitancy.

Naruto thought hard, and then he remembered the time when he had just gotten out of the hospital when he had first met Kakashi. He remembered seeing that weird red eye when he used it to talk to the fox.

Naruto nodded and told Sasuke everything but the thing about the fox; he didn't feel like talking about that right now anyway. Sasuke listened carefully and nodded. Sasuke then went on to tell Naruto what the eye was, and why it shouldn't be possible for Kakashi to have it. Naruto was just as stumped as Sasuke, not that that was much of a surprise to him. Sasuke knew that all Naruto would be able to tell him was very small things, but as it turns out it was almost no help at all. But that was fine.

A few minutes later their conversation stopped as Naruto could tell that Sakura was bringing them food.

"Glad to see that you're awake Naruto." Sakura actually looked to be genuinely happy that he was ok.

"Um, ya, so thank you for saving my life and all. Sasuke told me that you started my heart after I sort of died." Naruto was actually truly grateful for the first time that Sakura was on his team.

"no problem, besides, it was important to Sasuke that you lived, so I figured that I might as well see if I could do anything about it." Sakura said in a mock serious tone, and for the first time, Naruto actually picked up on the fact that someone was making a joke, and actually not meaning what they said.

"Sasuke, can you feed yourself? It's cool if not, it's not like you would be the only one." Sakura said gesturing in Naruto's direction. Naruto didn't get it, Sasuke did though. He just nodded and sat up a little. Taking the tray of food from her and started eating. Sakura then went to Naruto and propped up the bed so that he wasn't laying flat. At first Naruto was confused, but then it hit him, Sakura was going to feed him.

"No, no way! Untie me, I sure as hell can feed myself!" Naruto yelled as loud as he could, which wasn't all that loud as it hurt a little too even breathe. To Naruto's utter shock, Sakura quite literally got right back in his face.

"Listen tough guy. I didn't stay up all night patching you up, and making sure that your rib cage didn't start to move around to let you go and kill yourself! That's right, that slash practically cut through to your whole chest cavity! Do you have any idea how hard it is to mend bones, ligaments, muscle, and make sure that you don't bleed out all at the same time!? Not only that, but I had to do it on my own, not to mention that you weren't the only one that was hurt! So yes, I am going to feed you until 'I' clear you to move around again." Sakura growled out.

Both Naruto and Sasuke were in shock, she had never spoken that way to Naruto before. Not only that, they both got the feeling that this wasn't just a onetime thing either. Even still, Sakura would have to learn to hold her tongue sometimes, just because Naruto was starting to respect her more, didn't meant that he wouldn't paralyze her if she caught him on a bad day.

Naruto was about to tell her that she was dead the second he got out of this, but then he remembered what Sasuke had told him about Sakura crucifying him to the bed. He now realized that that was a very real possibility right now. And so with that in mind, he consented.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

After they had eaten, they both fell back asleep for an unknown period of time as time didn't seem to matter all that much anymore. When they woke up, both Kakashi and Sakura were in the room with them.

"Alright, it's time we all talked about what happened." Kakashi said in a tired tone. He was not at all up to doing this, he was still suffering the effects of chakra exhaustion. After Naruto was 'killed' his fight with Zabuza continued for almost a half hour. Even with his sharinggon, Zabuza was almost as good as he was, almost. If it wasn't for that fake hunter Nin, Zabuza would be dead, and this whole thing would be over.

The only good news was that Zabuza was going to be out of commission for awhile too.

"First off, Naruto, what the hell were you thinking?!" Kakashi practically yelled, he was pissed. While Naruto was a little shocked at first, he quickly recovered.

"Oh I don't know, I think that I might have been saving your ass!" Naruto yelled right back.

Kakashi just sighed, Naruto had scared the crap out of him, he was actually dead for a few minutes, not from the wound per say, but the shock of being stuck that hard was immense.

"Ok, I'm defiantly going to have to make you stronger as it is now abundantly clear that you are going to continue to be an idiot. So, let's move on shall we? First off, what questions does anyone have?" not to his surprise, both Naruto and Sasuke were up to date on everything that happened, that was good, it spared him the trouble.

Sasuke though did have question though.

"How is it possible for you to have a sharinggan?" Sasuke demanded, it was not a request.

Kakashi just looked at him and groaned, that was something that he would rather not go into right now, it brought up a lot of bad memories.

"Well if we're going to have story time, were going to have to get more comfortable, Sakura, can you go get some of whatever food is down stairs?" Sakura just nodded and left. When she got back with a couple of trays and such, Kakashi just started from the beginning. He was only going to tell this story once, sober that is, so he figured that they all should hear it together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It took about a half hour to get it all out, but he did finish it. It wasn't as hard as he thought it would be, they all seemed to understand, sort of. Sasuke was a little shell-shocked, for various reasons. Kakashi suspected that one of them was that there had been an Uchiha who didn't have a stick up their ass, not that he thought of it in that context that is.

All was silent for a moment, and then Naruto spoke up.

"Oh Kakashi, the Kyubi visited me while I was unconscious, it told me to tell you that part of the contract was going to activated or something like that." Naruto said a little cautiously as Kakashi was giving him a strange look. It was a few seconds before Naruto realized that he had said all of that in front of Sasuke and Sakura.

And with a big, "Oh, oops." Of realization, he realized that things were going to get a lot more complicated as the two of them were looking a little confused, but clearly wanted to know what was going on.

Kakashi just groaned in despair, "Naruto, do you have a problem with them knowing?" Kakashi said in an almost defeated tone. For a second Naruto was not so sure. Sasuke, and even Sakura to an extent, were the first friends he had ever had. Besides from Hinata that is. And for the first time in his life, he was a little afraid that they might not want to be around him anymore. But after a moment's thought, he decided that he didn't want to be friends anyway if they hated him for that. If they hated him for this, they could go to hell.

And with that, Naruto shook his head. Kakashi just sighed, "Naruto, do you mind if I tell them? I think I can explain it a little better than you." Naruto just shrugged, he was probably right.

With another sigh, Kakashi, being totally blunt as there was no way you could sugar coat something like this, told them all just about everything. The only thing he left out was the rest of the details of the contract, they didn't need to know about that yet.

"wow." Was all Sasuke could get out as he looked at Naruto with a critical eye. At first he wasn't sure what to think, but after only a few moments of thought, he decided that it didn't matter. There was nothing that anyone could do about it, so why worry or dwell on it? So, with a shrug Sasuke just yawned more or less giving them all the signal that he didn't care.

Kakashi was a little surprised, but not a whole lot. Sasuke really didn't care all that much about anything, at least not right now. However, Kakashi did note that after the whole epiphany he had had on the Hanabi thing, he was starting to at least grow more curious about what life had to offer. That was a very good sign.

However, Sakura looked almost terrified. But with a few deep breaths, she calmed herself down and started thinking. After a few minutes of reasoning she concluded that it didn't change anything as Naruto wasn't suddenly going to become any more terrifying than he already was. And so with a kind of shocked look, she just shook her head.

Kakashi to say the least, wasn't sure whether to be happy, or just plain confused. It was not normal for anyone to find out something as big as this and not run out of the room screaming.

"I guess it does explain a lot." Sakura said in an understanding tone as she looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. Kakashi just rolled his eyes.

"you know what, this conversation wasn't supposed to happen for a long time, but as long as were on the subject, why not just top it all off with a breakdown of Naruto's psyche?" Kakashi sort of growled out as he threw up his arms in agitation.

All of them just kind of stared at him blankly.

"First of all, Sakura, it explains nothing, at least not in the way that your thinking. The Kyubi did change his appearance and such. But something that I didn't mention that while I was talking to it, I didn't bring that up." It took a few seconds before all of them connected the dots. He was talking about why Naruto was practically a sociopath, almost any way.

"Naruto," Kakashi said making eye contact. "I asked the fox what it had done to alter your state of mind. It simply said that it didn't. While the fox is certainly capable of lying, it wouldn't if the truth would hurt more. In other words, if none of that had ever happened, and you grew up the same way, you would be exactly the same as you are now.

This kind of shocked all of them a little bit. Naruto had even assumed that the fox was partially responsible for making him a monster. After a moment of thought, he remembered something else.

"Just like Zabuza, right?" Naruto asked, referring to the conversation when Naruto figured out that the two of them were just like each other.

"Yes Naruto just like Zabuza. While you are a 'product of your environment', you would have turned out much the way you are now no matter how you grew up. Granted you probably would be a lot more compassionate, but you still would be you. While it might come as a surprise to you two," Kakashi said gesturing to the other two. "There are people out there who have a natural affinity to killing. It's not their fault, it's just something your born with. It doesn't make them bad people, it's just the way they are. I guess a way you could think of it would be; some people are gifted with the ability to make beautiful paintings, or be amazing chefs, Naruto's gift is death, and he is very good at it."

They all took a minute to digest this, it was a lot to take in. Naruto for one, was actually happy about it, he had always known, it was just something that was in the back of his head, it was just nice to have it confirmed by someone whom he not only respected, but realized that he truly did care about Kakashi.

Sakura was the first to speak up, though she spoke in a clearly reasoning voice, indicating that she was not saying this to be demeaning or anything.

"What do you mean that that doesn't make them bad people? How are you so sure?" Kakashi actually smiled, while he couldn't tell Naruto all about it, at least not right now, he could expose at least part of the truth.

"Sakura, while it may seem like a long stretch, Naruto is perfectly capable of almost every emotion that you are. There are a few that he obviously cant, but he isn't the monster that he is made out to be. While I admit that in a sense of the word, you could define him as a monster, he is just an entirely different kind than you would even think to comprehend. Take for example your personal experiences with him. Can you deny that since you have come to know him, he has at least started to open up a little bit?"

"As for how I am so sure I know what I'm talking about, I again can tell you that I know this to a moral certainty. Naruto is not the first person that I've known to be like him. In fact, in a lot of ways I actually loved this person and thought of him sort of like he was a big brother to me. He was my sensei, Minato namikaze, our forth Hokage."

Every one of them literally gasped at that statement. He would be the last person that they would ever think to be like what Kakashi had more or less described as a 'Natural Born Killer.' It was just a complete shock. But after it sunk in, it started to make sense. The Yellow Flash had killed so many people in the last war that a flee on sight decree had been issued. That wasn't what was hard to compute though, what was, was that Naruto could be like a man that had loved his village enough to willingly sacrifice himself for it.

Kakashi could see that they all needed time to sort this out, especially Naruto.

"Ok, I think that's enough therapy for one day, Sakura why don't we just let them rest for now. I'll see you two in the morning."

And with that he left Naruto and Sasuke alone to just lay in their beds absolutely stunned.

XXXXXXXXXXX

It was a full two days before all of it completely sunk in. it was finalized when both Sasuke and Sakura realized that all that they learned really didn't change anything. They might have a better understanding of Naruto, but other than that, there was no reason to dwell on it.

Naruto on the other hand, was in a seemingly germinate good mood for the moment. That being defined as him not sending death glares or otherwise threatening anyone's well being.

It was a full week before they were all well enough to start moving on their own, and much to Naruto's and Sasuke's horror, it was realized that it might be another two weeks that they were able to actually start training again.

However, Naruto actually gained a fan during this period. It was actually the first night that both he and Sasuke were able to join everyone else at dining table. They had also been told that they were staying at Tazuna's place for the moment, and that he had helped carry them.

**Flashback:**

They were all eating at the table in a comfortable silence at the moment. They had also been introduced to Inari, Tazuna's grandson, though he didn't say anything, and that was just fine with them. Then out of the blue he suddenly spoke up.

"Why are you even trying to save us? There's no way that you'll win, you'll just die like everybody else." Inari said without even looking up from his plate that was pretty much untouched. Naruto just shrugged.

"Honestly kid we're just here to do a job and get paid. That's really the only reason that we're here, as far as dying goes, I have no intention of dying in this asshole of a country." Naruto finished with a small bark of laughter.

Inaris face just soured. "What do you know about it? You couldn't possibly understand what we've been through, you couldn't really understand what it's like to live in oppression, and suffer." He finished yelling. Naruto just started looking around the house, then looked at the kid's mother, and grandfather, then looked at Sasuke who was doing the same thing. Then they both started laughing very hard.

Inari just started crying a little, it hurt him so much. Then he just ran out of the room, much to Naruto's amusement.

"I take it that there's a story that goes with that?" Sakura asked his mother ignoring her two uncompassionate teammates. She just nodded sadly and was about to start talking when Tazuna started first.

"It's ok, why don't you get to bed early, I'll take care of the dishes and such tonight." She just nodded and left the kitchen obviously depressed. Tazuna just sighed as he started telling them about inaris father, and everything that went along with it. Of course, neither Naruto or Sasuke stopped eating the entire time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Near the end of the story, inari walked back in and just sat down without saying anything. Apparently his mother had told him that it would be a good idea to go back, and get some other perspectives on the matter, though he didn't really have too. What he wouldn't admit, was that there was something that made him want to talk and be with Naruto. For some reason he felt like Naruto could really understand him.

After Tazuna finished, and left them all to contemplate it all. Now even Naruto understood, any normal kid seeing their father crucified and tortured would fuck them up, then inari spoke up again.

"There's something inside me now, something that came right after they killed him." He almost whispered, he wasn't really sure what it was. But Naruto just got it, he knew exactly what the kid was getting at. So he just nodded.

"I can see it now; it will be their your whole life, don't be afraid of it, in time you'll come to understand it, control it, and eventually, unleash it." He said in what seemed a wise tone. Sasuke also got it, he also had that, he always did, ever since he saw his family butchered. He had just figured it out without realizing it.

Inaris eyes just got bigger for a second before he left to go to bed, and for the first time in a while, he slept peacefully.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Well, that's all for now. That last part was an obvious reference to the video game Dark Athena, that last Riddick game. Riddick is one of my favorite fictional characters' ever. I've also been thinking, do you think it would be a good idea to start a small story on the side that's a crossover between Riddick, and Naruto? There aren't many out there, and I think that I could do it justice. Vote on a new poll I've got out letting me know.**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**First of all, sorry, not a whole lot happens in this chapter, but the action will pick up in the next chapter. I'm tired of following the cannon's 'guide line' I'm going to change it up a little. Anyway, I would have finished this days ago if I wasn't working on something else. As it turns out, I am going to try that Riddick crossover thing. At first it was just going to be a cool one shot or something, but then I started bouncing ideas off of Play4ever . At this point, it's kind of like 'how do I not at least try to write this?' So ya, it's going to happen. But don't worry, I won't disregard this story, Renegade will still be my priority. **_

Renegade- Ch. 18

The days actually went by pretty fast for Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura worked on them a couple of times a day, and Kakashi was a little farther behind them though in healing. As it turned out, his injuries were a little more serious than he had initially thought, but he had been too tired to notice, or care. It wasn't for almost two days that he noticed that the slight swelling on his arm, and one of his legs wasn't going down. His injuries were more serious than Sasuke's, but not nearly as bad as Naruto's, even though Naruto was clearly going to be at one hundred percent before he was.

Sakura still didn't know all that much, but she guessed that he had a couple of small fractures. There really wasn't all that much that anyone could do about it though, all he could do was wrap them up, and wait for them to heal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two weeks later, both of the boys were well enough to start moving around on their own, though Naruto was a mystery to Sakura for a little while, that is until they all had another revelation about Naruto.

Flashback:

"Naruto, how much pain are you in, seriously?" Sakura asked being honestly at a loss. Even though Naruto was still a little ways away from being completely healed, or at least well enough to start training again, he should still be in a lot of pain. They now knew that Naruto's healing ability was a side effect of the fox, but that shouldn't have mattered. Sakura knew where Naruto was in the healing process, and at the stage that he was at, he should still be in some pain even if he was on morphine.

"I'm fine Sakura, really. It does hurt, but it's nothing I can't handle." Naruto half begged, and half growled out. They had not untied him, at least not while they were resting, and when he did move around, he had needed help, but not anymore. Even though he was getting pissed, he still didn't want to be crucified to the bed post. If anything, learning about the Kyubi, and his healing abilities because of it, Sakura was more than happy to now hurt him, knowing that he would and could recover from even the most brutal wounds. Naruto now regretted telling, and letting her examine the scar on his neck. Sakura knew that she was probably going to be sorry when he did recover, but in the mean time, she was not hiding the fact that she was enjoying the power to control, and hurt Naruto. A fact that she actually reminded him of constantly, with practical and physical examples.

Rather than being pissed and just plain plotting her very slow death, Naruto actually respected her more for it, even though he wasn't consciously aware of it. It didn't so much as piss him off, rather than just annoy him. In his mind, Sakura was finally coming into her own, growing up, and was starting to just be 'blunt' and not beat around the bush when trying to get a point across. Naruto really hated it when people were that diplomatic, in his mind, they were just cowards that didn't have the balls to say what they were really thinking, and that disgusted him.

"That is, well, surprising if you're being honest, maybe the shock damaged some nerves so that it really hurts a lot more than you think it does?" Sakura said with a thoughtful expression.

"Lucky bastard." Sasuke muttered, jealously evident in his tone.

"Actually Sasuke, this can actually be a lot worse than it could be good, if he doesn't feel pain all that much, then he will not know when he is seriously injured, and that is a very bad thing. Naruto knew all too well what she was getting at, he had learned a long time ago that pain was your ally, not something to fear in itself.

"It's not like that Sakura, really. I know what you're getting at, but it's not like that. I always am like this when I get hurt, I still feel the pain, it's just more of something of an abstract, like something in the back of my mind that I can ignore if I want too." Naruto explained, though it was hard for him to do it as he had never even considered that it wasn't like that for everyone.

Sakura and Sasuke both just blinked. That was very weird, but then again, this was Naruto.

"Hmm, could this be a gift from the Kyubi, did it appear like this after you signed the contract?" Sasuke asked actually intrigued, this interested him. He also noticed that Sakura had a similar expression on her face, or at least he thought that she was thinking along the same lines as he was. That in turn meant, that like him, she could care less about him being a jinchuuriki, he was still, and always would have been a pain in the ass. Naruto took a moment to think.

"No, not really. Thinking back, it was always somewhat like this. I mean that when I was little I felt pain a lot more than I do right now, or at least I couldn't ignore it as well. But as I got more, 'practice' in it," Naruto stressed practiced to get the point across at what he was referring to, he loved to make people uncomfortable, he thought it was hilarious. Unfortunately, both Sasuke and Sakura were becoming increasingly hard to shock, and that annoyed him.

"And I got older, it just kind of got to this, and it never changed. Actually it was just like this even before I signed the contract." Naruto added thoughtfully.

"hmm." Sasuke thought to himself, and then he smiled, clearly amused with an idea, or rather an experiment. Sasuke then reach across the distance between their two beds, as he was sitting up on the side, and tagged Naruto with a quick jab to the chest. Naruto predictably yelled in pain.

"MOTHER FUCKER, YOUR DEAD YOU FUCKING FAGGOT!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, while simultaneously trying to get out of his restraints. Sasuke was actually smiling.

"What, I thought you didn't feel pain tough guy?" Sasuke said with a snicker at the end.

Then something happened that was completely unexpected. Sakura reached over and jabbed Sasuke right on his still healing cracked ribs. There was utter silence for a moment, other than Sasuke hissing in pain. And then, Naruto started laughing hysterically, tears were even produced. After Sasuke recovered, he was not at all above hitting Sakura back, he couldn't do it though, not that it was a morel thing, he literally couldn't. Sakura had improved, a lot. One thing that she had focused on was close quarters grappling, although she practiced a lot with Naruto, she still couldn't hope to mach him.

As it was, with Sasuke being at a disadvantage still having several cracked, and broken ribs, and just being weak from lack of any real movement for a couple days didn't even stand a chance. Sakura threw him, and then countered, and finally submitted him in less than four seconds. It ended up with Sakura holding both of Sasuke's arms behind his back, while he was on his knees. Naruto started laughing even harder.

After that, Sakura had forced Sasuke on to his bed, and then proceeded to tie him, in a similar fashion, as Naruto. The only difference was that Sasuke's restraints were placed in a way that as long as he didn't struggle, he would not be hurt.

After several minutes of Sasuke struggling in vain, Naruto laughing, and Sakura just standing off to the side with a bored expression, but she also had a ghost of a smile on her face as well.

After Sasuke had finally excepted his fate, he just glared at Sakura and growled, 'why?'

Sakura simply said that they were both her patients, and thus her responsibility. After that, she explained that she was allowed, by law as they were in the field, to do whatever was necessary to protect and ensure said patients and ensure their recovery as well. Of course, this only applied if it didn't compromise the mission, or disobeyed an order from their team leader.

Later on, while she left the two of them alone, knowing full well that they were going to spend as much time as they could plotting vengeance, that the two boys came upon yet another surprising fact. There wasn't anything that they could do to Sakura, short of seriously torturing her, that they already hadn't done to her. In short, unless they truly wanted her to suffer, she could now take anything they could dish out, they realized that she had accepted that no matter how much things hurt in training, she should live, and therefore she was just going to have to deal with it.

However, Sasuke had grudgingly convinced Naruto not to really torture her as he apparently still considered it a legitimate, justified response to tying them to their beds. Sasuke may have been cold, but as much as he was shocked to admit it, Sakura was actually growing on him. She was no longer useless.

Kakashi was in for a surprise as he was listening in on the conversation. He just wanted to make sure that they weren't going to do an anything too extreme. Sasuke came right out and told Naruto about Sakura growing on him, he didn't understand it, neither did Naruto. It was amazing to Kakashi, the two boys were fearless in a way he could never be, or fully understand. Kakashi reasoned that it was because they truly could care less about other people, or what they thought of them, even each other to an extent, though obviously they were a lot closer than before. They had no problem in admitting that something, that would have embarrassed the shit out of normal people, openly to each other. Kakashi also realized that the fact that neither of them had ever, in recent memory in Sasuke's case, experienced these emotions. Add to the fact that they now respected the others opinion, therefore, they had no problem on asking the other about these things.

'Actually, if one of them started crying, they'd probably both be fascinated by it and try and break it down analytically.' Kakashi thought with a slightly bitter, and yet still had an amused twist in it as well.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When both of the boys were finally cleared to leave, and do some light training. And Sakura stressed on light because if they hurt themselves again, they both would be tied up, and according to her, have to use bed pans. They did not want to take that risk. So, for the first couple of days, they just proceeded to up the level of calisthenics that they did to start getting back in shape. However, Kakashi also wanted them to get a feel for the area before the real training started.

All three of the Genin were heading to the village; Kakashi was staying behind to protect Tazuna and his family. They were all excited; Kakashi promised that the real training would start tomorrow. However, there light mood soon faded as they got to the village, well, Naruto's didn't, but that wasn't exactly a surprise.

"Hey Naruto, why is it that people can lose all of their, well, purpose?" Sakura asked, knowing that Naruto was the perfect person to ask. As much as she was saddened by the situation here, she was also slightly fascinated by it. But that was just her new medical thought process that she was developing. She was beginning to learn that before you could help and cure something, anything, you first had to understand it.

Naruto just shrugged.

"They have just been oppressed so long that their sprits have been broken. A lot of them have probably already lost the will to live and are dying right now. Don't let this Gato guy fool you though. It doesn't take a tyrant like him to do this, and it doesn't have to be simple people either, people are people. I guarantee you that if the spirit of Konoha was broken, if the fire went out so to speak, and there was almost no food left. Even the nobles in Konoha would eat each other." Naruto said being amused at Sakura's horrified expression as she realized that Naruto was totally right on that.

Sasuke just frowned will nodding indicating that he saw the point, and agreed with it, it also meant on a deeper level that he would never had thought of it like that, and he respected Naruto for it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Ok, today, your all going to learn how to climb trees." Kakashi said in a pleasant voice. The three of them almost bought it for a second before what he said sunk in.

"What the fuck? I thought you said you were going to give us some serious training?" Naruto yelled, trying to gauge whether or not he could take Kakashi in his injured state. While normally either annoyed, or embarrassed by Naruto's attitude, no matter how much she hid it as she didn't want to induce his wrath, Sakura actually agreed. That last fight had driven the fact that they all had a very long way to go before they could really even be considered real Genin. As they had all learned, there was a real difference from graduating and being promoted to a new rank, and actually living up to the standards and expectations of it.

Kakashi was still smiling while waving his hands in mock innocence as he explained himself. During which, he did not tell any of them how this would help at all during their next engagement. But that was just Kakashi's way.

Sasuke just pointed out that after they mastered this stupid trick, they could all just re-create the bell test until Kakashi decided to teach them something relevant to the situation, both of them hastily agreed.

After an hour and a half, they decided that it may have been a little harder than they initially thought. Though, they had to admit, the possibilities were intriguing. Sakura, being the best at chakra control out of all of them, had gotten it on the first try. Fortunately for her, she was smart enough not to rub it into the two boys' faces.

After both Naruto and Sasuke had finally gotten all the way up to the top, the sun was almost setting. But before they were going to turn in, as both him and Sasuke were both tired due to being locked up for awhile, Naruto had an idea and asked Sakura if she could test it out.

"Hey Sakura, get over here for a second will ya." Naruto sort of asked. This actually surprised, as much as set Sakura on edge. While Naruto hadn't demanded it, getting any more attention from him that was outside the obvious of training, was usually a bad sign. Another surprise was that Sasuke was almost concerned for her well being too. He knew exactly what she was thinking, and agreed with it. Two weeks ago he could have cared less if Naruto tore her throat out, but due to recent events, she was turning out to be more useful than he had originally thought possible.

'Besides, if Naruto kills her, I'll have to get an entirely new team.' Sasuke thought to himself, while hiding some hidden motives as well. One was that Naruto was the only one out his graduating class that he respected; two was that as much as he almost hated to admit it, he was starting to view Sakura of all people a friend. And last of all, there was a chance, however small, that he would somehow end up being paired up on Ino's team, and that he was not afraid to admit, terrified him.

And so, with those thoughts in mind, he casually went over to see what Naruto wanted with her. As soon as he got over there though, he was sure that something was up, that this could actually be interesting, and useful. Naruto had a look on his face that he had seen before when fighting. It was actually one of the things that Naruto had yet to realize about himself. Whenever Naruto came up with some new, creative, deadly strategy, that he had pulled out of his ass at the last second, he had this particular expression on his face. And thus Sasuke figured out that Naruto had an idea that needed Sakura too test out. After another moment of thought, he decided that he needed to be more alert as Sakura was in significantly more danger now.

"Sakura, you know how you told us about putting our chakra into our feet the right way?" Naruto asked still not looking at her as he was staring at the tree he had been climbing. Sakura nodded as she knew Naruto was going to assume that she knew anyway.

"Can you do that with your hands, or even your finger tips?" Naruto asked strangely. Neither Sasuke or Sakura knew where he was going with this, but both acknowledged that he probably had some crazy plan that was probably very useful. Sakura had concluded that because of Naruto's 'sick' sense of humor, and his brutal take on just about everything, that he was actually thinking in ways that they weren't able too. It was the only thing that she could conclude, and it made a lot of since now because of Kakashi's revelation that Naruto was actually not just simply crazy, but born that way.

In other words, Naruto was able to pull off these crazy brutal tactics because that was the way he thought about everything. And the reason neither she, nor Sasuke could ever do what he did was because their brains weren't hard wired the way his was. With this thought, she also figured out that that was probably of the reasons that the Yondaime was as brilliant as he was, it wasn't that no one else simply didn't think to try to create his Hiraishin technique, it was that no one else was able to think in a way that would allow them to come up with such an effective jutsu, no matter how much training they had. That explained why Naruto, while having no formal training in tactics, was able to magically come up with maneuvers and strategies that Kakashi was taking notes on.

"Hmm," Sakura thought to herself, in theory it was plausible, but it would take a lot of chakra control to do it. She also realized with a little pride that Naruto recognized this, and knew that Sakura was better at him at this.

"I don't see why not." Sakura didn't know where Naruto was going with this, but she knew better than to test his patience, as he was clearly excited after she said this.

It was a little difficult at first to figure out, but after a few minutes, and Sasuke half yelling at Naruto to stop breathing down her neck so she could focus, she was able to do it in her palms. When she climbed the tree only using her hands, she still didn't see the advantage as it was slower than doing it with their feet, but still she trusted in Naruto's sort of genius.

It took almost an hour, but eventually she was able to do the same thing with her finger tips. After that, it took almost three hours for her to successfully school Naruto and Sasuke to do the same thing. By that time, it was almost eleven. That is when Naruto's idea came into light.

They were all tired. While Sakura had excellent chakra control, she had low stamina and low chakra reserves. Even though those had risen significantly in the last few months, it was still a little on the weak side. Sakura was exhausted.

Sasuke had good chakra control, and a decent chakra reserve. As much as he had improved, he was still very tired, but was not swaying on his feet.

Naruto's chakra control still sucked, but was better. His chakra reserve was insane, and his stamina was just plain ridiculous. Naruto was still tired, and defiantly feeling it. But after a full day of practicing and planning, there was no way that he wasn't going to try this out.

Naruto took a deep breath and did not run up the tree. Instead, he jumped at it and stuck to it, and then he climbed up like a spider. While impressive, he didn't climb it faster than the regular way. Suddenly, Naruto stopped halfway up the tree, pushed off and seemingly jumped across to another tree where he stuck to it upside down, while still having both hands and feet to the tree in a very solid stance.

Sasuke and Sakura were impressed, it looked like it could be a very effective move, especially for Naruto who spent a lot of time in the air, with this, he could land on any surface and rebound, but then Naruto started doing something that made his jaw drop.

Naruto jumped back across to the tree he was on and instantly jumped back, and then he jumped to a different tree. And before they knew it, Naruto was jumping and pushing off of every single solid thing in the forest. He was fast, very fast, Sakura figured out how after a minute. With chakra already in the fingers and feet, it wasn't hard too simply push off with his fingertips with extra strength, add in really trying, the natural strength in the legs, a little bit of practice, and you could virtually become a bouncing ball that could decelerate, and accelerate as well as stop at will.

This effect increased still when momentum was gathered. Naruto was moving so fast in the forest that even Sasuke couldn't track him; all he caught was the occasional blur. With Naruto's night vision, he could move as fast as he wanted, know where he wanted to be, and basically start teleporting once he got fast enough. That in addition to his by now almost natural stealth ability, made this an ingenious, and yet exceedingly simple tactic.

There was only one problem, even as good as Naruto was, he was tired, and doing something that he had never done before. Naruto was just lucky that he happened to be passing Sasuke and Sakura when he slammed into a tree branch hard enough to splinter the branch that had to have been two feet thick. In addition to this, he was unconscious, and may have killed himself.

Luckily for Naruto, he realized that he had gained so much momentum that he couldn't stop. So, he more or less rolled into a ball to protect his head.

Sasuke and Sakura were in shock for a second, and then Sasuke started to bust up laughing so hard that tears were starting to form. Sakura was even giggling a little as she checked him over. Naruto was one lucky bastard, for that kind of impact, all he had to show for it were two cracked ribs, and a bruise that Sakura doubted even the Kyubi could heal in one night.

"Holy shit." Kakashi stated right behind them, while both of them jumped, surprised, they still didn't say anything. Apparently, Kakashi had been watching and mirrored their thoughts perfectly. Just shaking his head, they made a quick stretcher and carried Naruto back to the house to tie him back to the bed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kakashi felt like getting hammered, unfortunately he couldn't do that right now. While he couldn't disclaim that Naruto's idea was genius, and an extremely good thing to have in any forest or something, Naruto was stupid enough to try it on himself. As dense as Naruto could be, it was still a surprise to Kakashi that Naruto couldn't figure out that 'ANY' technique that they had never used before needed to be practiced extensively before trying its full potential. Using any form of a clone was the best option. But add the fact that this was something that he made up, as far as he knew had never even been tested before, and it the whole point was to make a move that could be extremely dangerous, that was almost suicidal.

Clearly, Kakashi was going to have to pay closer attention to Naruto while he was training, or one of these days he was going to kill himself on accident.

As it was, he had a hard conversation with Naruto. Naruto, while being his normal defiant self, was still a little taken aback during the argument in which Kakashi refused to back down, and was determined to drive his point home. He had never before been angry at Naruto like that, at least he had never practically yelled at him before.

Kakashi sighed thinking back to when Naruto was still living in the forest. After a little more investigating, Kakashi knew Naruto was behind the 'bombing' that splattered human paste over that day care center. While Kakashi, on a deep level that he wouldn't admit to, was amused by it as he could see why it could be funny, he still couldn't help but be a little disgusted when he found out. At that time, he had wanted to yell at Naruto for his stupidity for risking his future. Back then though, their relationship was still on the fence, if Kakashi made one wrong move, Naruto would never speak to him again, and in all likelihood, he probably would have started to attack him on sight back then, now though, he had no such restrictions. While Naruto didn't pick up on it, Kakashi was angry because Naruto could have died just as easily as he had only been hurt. Kakashi was angry in a way that a parent was when their child did something stupid. If he had hit a tree strait on, his head probably would have popped like a pumpkin at those speeds.

While Naruto did yell back, he was still a little shocked; he had never seen Kakashi like that before. In fact, very few had. Kakashi always made an effort to keep up his image and not only for the reasons you might think. It was actually a thing he picked up from playing poker, while he had enemies everywhere; there were probably a few spies in the village as well. Also long as he always acted the same, no matter what happened, no one would be able to predict his actions, usually.

In the end, he had gotten his point across later on. Naruto, while definitely put in his place somewhat, was still caught trying to sneak out to train. Regardless of the type he was going to do, Kakashi had told him to stay in bed and heal up. Kakashi didn't care when Naruto disrespected him, he knew that he really didn't mean it, usually. Ironically, it was when Naruto used curse words that were actually less offensive to other people, that he really meant them. When Sasuke and Naruto said goodbye, Naruto would say, 'later fag,' or 'go fuck yourself and see if your better tomorrow,' Sasuke had more or less picked up on this, and had actually started to develop the same habit unfortunately. Even Sakura was slowly getting there as well.

When Kakashi caught Naruto, and told him to go back inside, Naruto had not simply said, 'fuck you' he responded with a simple 'go to hell', Kakashi, while not using full force, punched Naruto right in the face, which in turned knocked him on his ass, and ordered him to get back in bed. Naruto was shocked, that had hurt even him. Whatever else Naruto may be, he was still a teenager, and teenagers occasionally need to be put in their place. The only reason that this was Kakashi's problem was because he was the only person that could knock sense into Naruto. It was actually the only way to get something like that through to him anyway.

While Naruto had obliged, he was still not happy about it. But the next morning when he thought about it, he realized that it was an all around stupid mistake. Kakashi had probably saved him from hurting himself even more, and not only that. But Kakashi knew that Naruto actually wanted to disrespect him that time, Naruto actually agreed with what Kakashi had done. It made sense to him, Kakashi was his commander, he could not allow insubordination of any kind. Kakashi may have been a lot more tolerant than other instructors, but that was only because he knew his team, and could tell the difference between just regular team dynamics, and an actual insult. In short, Kakashi acted as a commander should have.

'Actually, I got off easy. If it had been me, I probably would have killed the little shit that told me to go to hell.' Naruto thought with a shrug. Naruto wasn't going to apologize, it was just his way. In his mind, not doing it again was him clearly saying 'point taken'.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **

Two days after Kakashi almost knocked out Naruto, which by the way both Sasuke and Sakura thought was hilarious, everyone was back at full potential. Kakashi had something on his mind though as he watched his team practice, while they were all improving, if they survived this mission, he had to do something to help improve their specialties'. While nothing major could be done for a while, new weapons were a good start.

After Naruto's sword was broken, he thought that Naruto could just buy another one, the pay from this mission would certainly cover it, but Kakashi wasn't entirely sure that was the best way to go any more. Kakashi had originally supported the idea of the sword because of his mother; she had been one of the best he had ever seen. She didn't get the name 'The Red Death' for nothing after all.

'She certainly would have been able to kill Zabuza in a strait Kenjutsu battle.' Kakashi thought bitterly. Even though in the end he had won, it was only because of Naruto that he wasn't dead. Zabuza had him, it wouldn't have mattered if Kakashi could hold his breath for a full day, all Zabuza had to do was sit tight.

Kakashi assumed that the natural talent would have been passed down from his mother, but didn't seem to be the case. Naruto was good with it, but he wasn't great either. Kakashi knew he could do much better than this. The Yondaime never used a sword; he had only fought with his special kunai. It didn't actually make a whole lot of sense to have Naruto get comfortable with a sword, and then take it away when he was finally ready to start using the Hiraishin. As Kakashi watched Naruto and Sasuke spar, he almost face faulted at his stupidity.

Naruto had unconsciously found the answer a long time ago to that. That was how this usually worked anyway, you weren't supposed to be given a weapon and have automatically be your destined weapon of choice. Usually you would just naturally want to use something, for whatever reason, your mind just knew what the right fit was.

Naruto had bought a trench knife the first chance he had gotten. While the knife that Naruto had was a decent blade, it wasn't up to the standards needed to be a primary weapon. Besides, it was more or less a base model of sorts. Kakashi tried to think of alternatives, and Asuma's custom brass knuckles came to mind, but then he dismissed that. While Naruto may need something like that, he still needed a longer blade to work with.

As for Sasuke, well, trying a sword out wouldn't be a bad idea. Kakashi could tell that Sasuke tended to want a little bit of distance while he was fighting. While not wanting to get close to Naruto was a good a reason as any, Kakashi still noticed that that was just the way he fought, he tended to try to stretch out a little bit with every attack. The added reach of some form of a sword would definitely help.

Kakashi had absolutely no idea about Sakura though. As much as she was improving, besides her medical studies, she still didn't have a particular talent. Not that the medic thing was unappreciated or anything, but it would still be a year or two before that could be a true specialty for her.

Shaking his head, Kakashi filed it away for later thought; it wouldn't matter if he didn't get them all back to the village anyway.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Alright, I've had a couple of emails asking me exactly how much I'm going to follow the cannon. I'm just going to clear this up right now. I will only follow it up to the time skip, for the most part, that is with me adding in my own shit. The reason being is that the cannon has now fallen into the vicious cycle that all fighting manga do. 'cough' Dragon Ball Z 'cough'. **_

_**This cycle is pretty much that the main character just gets strong enough to beat someone, and pulls something out of their ass at the last second to do so. Then, another opponent appears that makes the one they just fought look like an ant compared to a god. The same thing happens, over and over, with all the main characters getting power ups or whatever until eventually, even minor side characters are powerful enough to blow up the world, or knock the earth off its elliptical because they accidently blinked to hard. **_

_** Well that's just being dramatic, but you get the point. I don't even think I'm going to have Madara in the story at all. I am not interested in turning any of the characters, including Naruto, into gods.**_

_**In addition to all of this, there is the stupid romance aspect of the cannon. They talk about loving each other, but no one ever does anything about it. This story will be a NaruHina, and SasuSaku pairing no matter what. But all the same, it's like 'Make up your fucking mind already or stop talking about it!' at least that's the way I see it.**_

_** I hope that clears things up, so anyway, enjoy the new chapter.**_

**Renegade Ch.19**

Naruto was resting, and thinking. He knew that soon they would have to fight Zabuza again, 'but maybe we don't have too?' Naruto thought to himself. It made sense to him, why wait for Zabuza to find them? They didn't even have to go after Zabuza; all they had to do was kill the man who was paying him. After that, there would be no reason for Zabuza to want to fight them.

Naruto looked over at his teammates, who were in a similar state of exhaustion. He decided that he would tell Kakashi the next time he saw him about his idea.

Kakashi was impressed, not ecstatic, but impressed. When Kakashi had come back to check on his students, Naruto had brought up the idea to take the fight to them, or rather, to go after Gato directly. While this was a good plan, there were still a few big problems that went along with it.

One of them was that this would leave Tazuna and his family open to attack. Though Kakashi couldn't deny the logic, it made a lot of sense, if Gato died, it would kill two birds with one stone. But even still, just because both that hunter Nin and Zabuza were otherwise engaged, assuming that they were there to defend Gato or were still recovering, that didn't mean that Gato couldn't simply send regular mercs to finish off the family.

Even with all that said, he recognized that his team was now mature enough to see all of this, and who knew, with the clear talent that all three of them possessed, maybe if they brainstormed enough they could come up with an alternative.

"I see your point Naruto, but what about Tazuna and his family? Even if we could guarantee Gato's death and that Zabuza wouldn't get involved, that doesn't mean that regular mercenaries couldn't come to kill them." Kakashi said while thinking it over again.

All of them could see the point, and were thinking it over, Sasuke spoke up first.

"Couldn't Naruto just leave a bunch of his clones here? They would be more than enough to take care of any normal mercenaries." Sasuke said with certainty, he was one to know, Naruto's clones were not to be taken lightly.

"true, but that wouldn't mean that Zabuza wouldn't come here while we were away, and Naruto's clones wouldn't be able to hold him back long enough for us to get back in time." Kakashi retorted, though keeping his tone civil, they weren't trying to shoot each other down after all. Not that Sasuke or Naruto would care even if he was trying to be hurtful. Surprisingly, it was Sakura who spoke up next.

"I don't think that Zabuza would do that. You said that Naruto and Zabuza thought the same way right? Wouldn't that mean that Zabuza would expect Naruto to come up with this plan? That would mean that he would have no choice but to stay and defend Gato, after all, if Gato dies he doesn't get paid." Sakura said with a look of rationality. Kakashi had to admit, that made sense, and he was further impressed that she had thought of that before he had.

"I suppose that makes sense, but it's still a risk." Kakashi said, though he knew that it was probably the best option at this point. During missions that's all that there was, options. Really all you ended up doing was choosing the lesser of two or more evils. In this case they could either put their client at risk right now, or wait for Zabuza to become fully recovered and prepared and probably ambush them at sometime. That in turn would actually put Tazuna and his family in more danger than them taking the initiative right now.

Kakashi explained this all to them, after all, what was the point in acting on something if he didn't at least try to explain it to them? At least this way they would learn something.

"Alright, so that's what we're going to do. But now, our job is to focus on it and try to improve upon the plan and all the aspects within it." Kakashi explained once again in his teaching pose as if he was lecturing them all in a classroom.

And so with that, they all started bouncing ideas off each other while they ate lunch. Though all three of the Genin still tried to see if they could see Kakashi's face, they didn't succeed.

It was finally concluded that Naruto would leave at least thirty clones, with four of them being henges to look like the rest of them. The rest of them would scout, and stay hidden to lend support. Kakashi also decided that this would all be a diversion. They would also relocate Tazuna and his family to a new and more secure location while being guarded by Naruto's clones. Though the location would have to be some distance away. And Naruto was ordered to not spend time alone with Inari.

When Naruto asked why, Kakashi told him that he knew about how Naruto had suggested to the children in their first mission, to go and play 'drink the stuff under the sink'. They all agreed that it was the best course of action. It was also decided that the sooner that this plan was executed, the better. They would move Tazuna tonight, or at least Kakashi and Naruto clones would. The rest of them would stay behind to rest, and prepare.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was time, they were all awake. The sun wasn't even up, but they were ready. They weren't able to attack the day after the plans were made. They were so caught up in the pre planning that they had forgotten that they didn't know exactly where Gato lived. It took a full day of intelligence gathering in the village, and the capture and torture of a few local thugs that worked for him. But by that night, they knew where he lived.

It actually surprised Kakashi, but even though he gave all of them the option, even Naruto though he knew it was pointless, to not be present for the interrogations. They all did though, even Sakura. While it was her first time, it wasn't too bad. This was mostly because they weren't torturing them to just make them suffer, they just wanted the information. After they were satisfied that they had gotten everything out of them, they put them out of their misery.

They then spent another full day doing recon on Gato's mansion. Kakashi wasn't surprised that Gato seemed to make it a point that he lived in luxury. While all of them went to help, Kakashi was forced to reveal a secret to Naruto, well it wasn't exactly a secret, and he simply didn't want to clue Naruto in on it yet.

It was the whole Naruto gaining the knowledge of every clone that was dispelled, Naruto was so focused on the task at hand, that he simply hadn't noticed the effect. Kakashi hadn't told him because now that Naruto was consciously aware of it, he knew that Naruto would continuously use it in training. While it wasn't a bad thing in itself, it went back to him not wanting Naruto to get that strong this soon. He wanted to make sure of Naruto's character before he did. Though he was now confident that Sasuke and even Sakura with her intelligence would keep him humbled enough for him to not get out of control.

With Naruto's clones' memories, they were able to form a plan of action. Kakashi let Sakura make the blueprints of the place for the sake of experience, though Kakashi also paid attention and helped when needed.

It was decided that Kakashi would simply walk in through he front gate. This was because Kakashi's whole role in this was to either fight and kill, or distract Zabuza long enough for the rest of them to infiltrate and kill Gato. They had no idea what the other shinobi's abilities were, so there best bet was to simply avoid a fight. They knew that it would probably happen anyway, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't try to be as stealthy as possible while they couldn't help it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It the early morning mist and fog, Kakashi was walking leisurely through he front lawn of the mansion. Taking his time. A few guards tried to stop him, but it was nothing more than swatting flies for him. As he approached the front door, he saw Zabuza sitting casually on the steps, his giant sword leaning against the wall. With a grunt he got up, shouldered his sword, and walked up to Kakashi with at a causal pace.

They stopped about ten meters apart from each other. They stood silent for about a minute.

"Ready?" asked Zabuza, with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Ready." Kakashi responded, and with that, they both jumped towards each other.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto and his two team members waited just outside the back of the mansion until they heard the fight break out. They waited for a moment. As the fight broke out, that was the signal for dozens of Naruto's clones to move. They were spread out and actually surrounded the entire compound. As soon as the fight broke out, they moved in, bows drawn, and dealt death to whomever they saw. The confusion and combined with the terrifying noises from Kakashi's and Zabuza's battle, created a state of panic in the mansion. Guards were running around everywhere trying to find the enemy, only to be cut down by arrows.

"Either of you not ready for this?" Naruto asked quietly. Neither of them responded. With that, they all leapt over the fence. Moving quickly, and silently, they all made it to the actual mansion in only a few seconds. No one was even watching the back anymore.

After the recon, they had discovered that Gato wasn't a complete idiot. After finding no windows or other entrances, they concluded that there was only one way to his office and bed room. There were likely two main halls, one was after you got into the main entrance, and the other was most likely right before they could gain access to the room.

So, they ran up the building and as quietly as possible breached a window that was previously agreed upon. Even though there was little to no one in that section of the building, they all still crawled on the ceiling being as stealthy as possible. Right after they entered, Naruto created a number of shadow clones to scout the building, not to engage unless they saw the target, but they needed to know if Gato was hiding anywhere else.

As they moved through the mansion, it was amusing to see guards cut down by arrows from the outside. They just tried to dart around, and the arrows went right through the windows killing most of them right away.

It took a few minutes, but eventually they found the second main hall. It appeared to be deserted. This was both a good and bad sign. Good in that there were no additional guards to deal with, bad in that this was now a textbook example of an ambush.

With that, they all shared a look of understanding, they needed to do this fast, and as stealthy as possible. They waited a few moments to get their bearings and plan on where they wanted to go. They waited a few moments, listening to the sounds of the almost muted battle in the background. After an explosion was heard from somewhere, they moved as one.

They had practiced this, not as much as they would have liked too, but they did practice the technique that Naruto created. They were all moving as fast as they could across the ceiling towards the stairwell that was the only conceivable entrance to Gato's office. Halfway across, Naruto felt the killing intent, and heard a kunai flying towards them, with the distinguishing sound of the hissing of an active explosive tag.

They all reacted, sort of. They all jumped off, but Sasuke grabbed Sakura in mid air and threw her towards the stairs. Naruto and Sasuke both landed back to back in the middle of the hall. They were instantly surrounded by an ice like dome. Sakura, despite the danger she knew was involved, prepared to either try to break the dome herself, or jump in with her teammates. But she was interrupted before she even began to charge.

"Sakura don't, you're not strong enough yet to help us." Naruto yelled, though not moving his head.

"Naruto's right, keep going, kill Gato, and complete the mission. We'll deal with whoever this guy is." Sasuke said while also not moving his head. Sakura couldn't help but be a little hurt. It wasn't that her teammates had such little faith in her; it was that she wasn't strong enough to help yet. But after a moment, she found her resolve, turned around, and charged up the stairs.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto tried to figure out exactly what this jutsu was; the hunter Nin figure that Sasuke and Kakashi described was in every single mirror.

"Sasuke, is this a Genjutsu?" Naruto asked knowing that Sasuke would be the one that would be able to identify it.

"No, I don't think so. This is something very real, I'm positive." Sasuke said with conviction. Growing up he had been schooled in the arts of Genjutsu, being prepared for the eventual activation of his sharingan. Naruto decided that the best thing to do would be to buy time to think, and gather Intel.

"who are you, and why are you defending a dirt bag like Gato?" Naruto yelled. While Naruto already knew the answer, or at least part of it, and he actually didn't care, it was a good way to start a conversation. Luckily, the figure took the bait and started talking.

"I admit that that man repulses me. But that's not my call, my master Zabuza says that that's what I am to do, and that's all I need to know." The figure responded simply. This however did piss Naruto off. He had spent most of his life defying the oppression of others, and this guy actually knew that he was being used like that and he was ok with it? Naruto didn't so much care about this person himself, but the idea of utterly giving in like that was repulsive. Naruto could also tell that Sasuke felt the same way. While Sasuke didn't understand it the way that Naruto did, he had a different point of view on it.

Sasuke had spent his younger years desperately trying to get out of the shadow of his brother. Sasuke didn't even realize till a few months ago that he had unintentionally given in to exactly that. Likely for the mere amusement of his brother. The idea also disgusted him that this person would intentionally seek that out and submit to it.

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard! Are you telling me that you're completely ok with being used and thrown away on a whim? Are you ok with not even trying to find your own way, your own purpose?" Naruto yelled fiercely. Sasuke was a little worried that Naruto would just go off and forget to keep his cool. Luckily, Naruto caught himself before that happened.

They could tell by a slight twitch that the figure was a little taken aback, and a shaken up.

"I can understand your point of view, I really can, but you don't understand the circumstances that led me to Zabuza in the first place. You see, Zabuza gave me purpose; he gave me a reason to live. I was a child when Zabuza happened upon me; I was dying, and had lost the will to live.

"Like Zabuza said to you, he never lied to me about his intensions; I always knew what would become of me if I were to follow him. But even with my will to live gone, something in Zabuza inspired me to push on, to serve this man who was so sure of himself. Its Sasuke right? You must understand what I'm talking about, surely you have somehow been influenced by this Naruto, this Naruto that is the same as Zabuza." The figure said with a knowing tone.

That did stop Sasuke for a moment. He knew it, he always did, Naruto had saved him from himself, and Naruto had freed him from his psychopathic brother's sick game. The only reason that Sasuke did not resent Naruto, as for the most part if this were to happen it would mean that Naruto intended to enslave him, but that wasn't the case. Naruto wanted to find his own way, his own path to his 'happiness', and that didn't include enslaving others in any fashion.

In a brief realization Sasuke realized that this was proof that Naruto did indeed have a conscious like Kakashi claimed, whether he was aware of it or not. Sasuke quickly filled this away for later; he would have to ask Naruto about this, it was interesting.

Getting back to his train of thought, Sasuke understood why this person was ok with being controlled. The only real difference between Naruto and Zabuza, other than the Kyubi that is, was that Zabuza had been hardened enough so much that he had lost himself. And with that thought, Sasuke's resolve was hardened more than ever.

What Sasuke and Naruto would discus later was that Naruto had realized most of this himself. He got it, in a way that Sasuke or even Kakashi couldn't understand. This person was serving Zabuza because he thought that this was the pinnacle of the happiness that was possible. The only thing that Naruto was not aware of was the proof of an actual conscious that Sasuke had deduced.

The figure then started again. "I can see that you understand now, and I'm sure that you have some sort of truth that I cannot see. However, it is untimely irrelevant, no matter what, I will not betray him. As much as I truly want to hear you out, I fear it would be too painful to do so." The figure said with obvious hurt in his voice. Naruto understood. And with that understanding, he realized that the fight was about to start, and he wanted to make the first move.

Naruto trusted Sasuke to know what to do, this was ice, and fire was the obvious reaction to this. Over the last few weeks, Sasuke had been perfecting his fire techniques. After that last battle with the demon brothers, he could see the potential that the jutsus truly possessed. So, following Naruto's lead as to his approach on getting stronger, he asked Kakashi how to improve upon them. Kakashi said that before Sasuke started to make the jutsu more potent, thus making the jutsu much hotter. Sasuke had to learn how to focus the heat itself into the area that he wanted to affect, more or less, not letting the heat escape, thus focusing the full potential on his target. While Sasuke had not fully mastered it, Kakashi was satisfied that his control was enough to make his jutsus more effective.

Naruto started off, acting as the distraction, and the bait. He lunged at the ice mirror that he could gain the most momentum to hit it. Naruto hit it with everything he had. It dented the mirror, and hurt his fist. In addition to this, the figure put several senbon needles into Naruto.

Meanwhile, Sasuke put everything that he had into his fire jutsu. His jutsu was finished right after Naruto was launched back to his previous position. Suddenly, Sasuke's arms flared with pain, and his hands went limp. As he looked up, he was disappointed that his most powerful jutsu only partially melted through the mirror; in addition to that the mirror seemed to be slowly repairing itself.

Sasuke quickly took stock of the situation. His hands weren't responding, they were in pain, but he could tell that he wouldn't be able to use them anytime soon. He looked over at Naruto, Naruto was getting up, but he could tell that he too was hurt, but he could at least use his hands. Sasuke suddenly had an idea, he could perform the replacement technique without seals, and he could feel a small desk that he could replace himself with, putting him out of danger. But then he saw that the fake hunter Nin wasn't going to give Naruto a chance to recover, no, he was smarter than that. Sasuke could tell that he was going for the kill.

Without hesitating at all, Sasuke shoved and took all of the damage that Naruto was about to receive. The hunter Nin was apparently shocked he didn't continue his assault. Naruto himself was also speechless; Sasuke had sacrificed himself for him, for him. Before Sasuke could collapse, Naruto caught him, though they were both on the ground. Naruto was more or less cradling Sasuke's head; they normally would have been embarrassed, but not now.

"Why Sasuke, why for me?" Naruto said, and for the first time, his voice was thick with emotion. Sasuke just smiled weakly.

"You would have done the same and you know it. I'll explain when we meet again." And then with another smirk Sasuke finished with, "see you on the other side fag." Then his heart stopped beating.

Naruto was in shock, his first friend; his first true friend was dead. Dead. And he wasn't coming back. He was seething, hatred and malice flooded the area like a tsunami would. Naruto felt this burning feeling erupting from within him, it felt wonderful, he relished in the release of his malice. He suddenly realized what the next step of the contract was as he saw the Kyubi's chakra cover him in some form of an aura.

But he was too angry to care right now. He was focused, he was in control, and he was lethal. Naruto didn't bother to say anything, he just attacked. He shattered the ice dome with one punch, sending the fake hunter Nin flying. He never made contact with the wall; Naruto had caught him and slammed him into the ground. His mask shattered, and blood sprayed from his mouth. Naruto didn't care. Just as he was about to rip his heart out he heard Sakura cry out.

"He's alive! Sasuke's alive!" Sakura screamed in pure joy, tears evident even though Naruto wasn't looking at her. He stopped just short of tearing into this man's rib cage.

'Sasuke's only alive because he didn't want him dead. Even though they were meant for me, if he had wanted us dead, we would be. Why?' Naruto suddenly realized that this man had no intention of killing them; at least he didn't when he thought that he could neutralize him without killing them.

As Naruto considered this, he didn't notice that the Kyubi's chakra dissipated. Suddenly an explosion slightly rocked the mansion. Not even thinking about his actions right now, simply going on instinct, on what he really wanted to do, he made his choice.

Looking over at Sakura, seeing her treating Sasuke, he also noticed that Gato's head was abandoned at the bottom of the stairs. Sakura was also covered in blood. It looked almost like she went swimming in it. But Naruto had trained with Sakura long enough to know the scent of her blood, that wasn't her blood on her. Nodding, he told Sakura what they were going to do.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura knew that she didn't have any time to waist. She had just left both of her teammates to fight an opponent of unknown strength. As powerful as they were, she doubted that they could take on someone that Zabuza traveled with. She knew their only chance was to kill Gato herself, and then she had to prove it to them. After that, they would have no reason to fight, and her teammates could be saved.

Surprisingly, Gato's guards didn't abandon their posts when all of the chaos erupted. They stayed, preparing for a fight. Imagine their surprise when a little girl in a pink dress thing came charging at them,

Sakura saw the guards ahead of her, she didn't stop. She wasn't fighting for herself right now; her team was depending on her. She pulled a kunai as she ran at them; the first ones were too shocked to even draw their swords. She used that and cut them down with an efficiency that would impress even Naruto.

The next couple mercs were about five meters farther down, and they did draw their weapons. She still reacted on instinct. There were three of them, spaced out to block the hallway. Sakura switched her kunai to her left hand while also drawing another one. She threw her original kunai to the man on her far left while she ran to the right. She didn't bother to see if her kunai hit its mark, she knew it did, she aimed for center mass, and was dead on.

The samurai on the far right tried to kill her with a strait slash. Sakura avoided it by jumping on the wall and pushing off of it. The samurai didn't get a chance to block as she spun in the air slitting his throat. As she landed she ducked under another attack by the last remaining guard. Sakura put the kunai in the back of his leg, right into the center of his hamstrings dropping him to his knees. She then buried the kunai in his aortic artery in his back. She didn't even stay a second to watch him bleed out.

Sakura ran a little more, and saw the big doors to Gato's main office. Sakura kicked them in with a flying side kick, the doors exploded open. Just as Sakura rushed in, she was ambushed, but she was ready. Sakura was right in front of another samurai; she jumped over his low strike and buried her kunai right in the top of his skull. Sakura used the momentum to continue with a front flip. She didn't bother to pullout the kunai, the result being that the kunai burst right out of the mans forehead.

As Sakura charged forward, there were two remaining guards charging her in unison, there teamwork obvious. Sakura threw a single shiruken at each of them catching them strait in their throats. Sakura continued to charge the now terrified Gato. She didn't care.

In an instant all of the horror stories she had heard, all of the terrible sights she had seen flashed through her head. She focused her hatred on this man as she jumped strait at him. What Sakura didn't realize and didn't have time to think about at the time was because she had such good chakra control, and because she had already started practicing medicine. When she was going on pure instinct like she was now, she more or less had a bastardized version of Tsunade's strength. Sakura punched Gato strait in the throat. Gato's neck exploded, and thus practically drenching Sakura in blood, and decapitating Gato.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kakashi was having a hard time. Zabuza used his mist jutsu to cover the entire front lawn in thick mist, preventing Kakashi from having any real use for his sharingan. He also couldn't trust his hearing either, that was part of the jutsu, to throw off the targets. What Kakashi did have was the ability to track him through scent.

It was almost fifteen minutes into the fight that Kakashi had figured this out, up until then he had only been able to go on the defense with sensing killing intent. After figuring this out though, Kakashi was able to go on the offensive, attacking Zabuza with both Tiajutsu, and Ninjutsu. Kakashi wanted to use his nin dogs to track Zabuza more effectively, but Zabuza wasn't giving him the chance. It made sense that as soon as Kakashi started going on the offensive, Zabuza would know that Kakashi had figured out the weakness in his jutsu.

Kakashi was starting to get tired, they had been fighting for almost half an hour, and there was still no sign of his team. He did have one more ace in the whole though, just as Kakashi was about to try a jutsu that would leave him vulnerable, the Kyubi's chakra flared up, even Kakashi couldn't help but tremble.

While Zabuza was preparing to attack him again, Kakashi quickly went through and used a very powerful fire jutsu that created a huge explosion. It was a gamble though, that used up most of his remaining chakra. Kakashi then summoned his nin dogs to track Zabuza down, it was almost working.

At the last moment Zabuza realized what Kakashi had done, and was barely avoiding the dogs, he was tired too. But then Kakashi attacked him in sync with the dogs, and they had him. With a few crunches and cracks, both of Zabuza's arms were broken. Kakashi, not willing to risk Zabuza getting loose somehow, fired up his lighting blade. But just before he was going to finish Zabuza off…

"wait!" Naruto cried out, remarkably, Kakashi did indeed stop. But that didn't mean that he was about to let his guard down. However, both of the Jonin looked over, and almost gasped in surprise.

Naruto had the unknown hunter nin slung over his shoulders, and Sakura was carefully carrying Sasuke. Naruto dropped the person that he was carrying, and Sakura then set Sasuke down, she also threw Gato's head at their feet. Neither one of the Jonin knew what to do; they actually had no quarrel now.

"Kakashi sensei, please let me talk, I promise that I actually have a reason this time." Naruto said practically begging, Kakashi complied. After all, Zabuza was technically no longer his enemy. Kakashi made eye contact with Zabuza, and saw that Zabuza was done. And with that, he released him. Zabuza promptly dropped down, then he looked at Naruto, he owed the boy that much after all.

Naruto went on to explain the fight, and everything that went with it. He told Zabuza about the unfamiliar emotions that he felt, especially after he thought that Sasuke had died. After he was done, he stayed silent for a moment and waited for Zabuza to put the pieces together. And then, a look of almost desperation appeared on the face of the Demon of the Mist as Zabuza realized that Naruto had practically already achieved his goal of achieving true happiness, all that was left was to grow, and mature.

But Zabuza was actually scared; this was something that he had never even considered possible.

"Y-You can't have both!" Zabuza half yelled, half whimpered. He was referring to not only being true to themselves by embracing their true nature, and having people that they loved, and were loved in return. Naruto just narrowed his eyes.

"watch me. If I can do it, that means that you can to. I don't know what your dream is, but I'm sure that there's a way to go about achieving it that doesn't require that you kill that part of yourself." Naruto said with conviction. Zabuza was speechless, and just like Sasuke a few months ago, was emotionally shattered.

'who is this boy?' Zabuza thought in awe, he had never heard of someone that could totally and completely break someone down, while at the same time not guiding the direction. He had broken Zabuza down to his true core.

"I will ask Kakashi sensei to let you live, but I want your word Zabuza. I want your word that you will pursue happiness. And most importantly, I want your word that you will go about it in a way that won't betray the moral compass that you know you have and I want your word that you will earn every breath you take. If you can't do that, then I will kill you here and now." Naruto finished with complete and utter conviction.

Zabuza cast his eyes down, and then looked at his estranged apprentice Haku. He thought about it for a moment.

'fuck it. What do I really have to lose? I should be dead anyway.' Zabuza thought with an inward laugh. Zabuza then made eye contact with Naruto.

"I give you my word that I will earn it." He said with conviction as well. Naruto looked at him, nodded, and then turned to Kakashi.

Kakashi thought for a moment, and then nodded as well. And just like that, the Demon of the Mist was spared.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Letting everybody know, I published that Riddick crossover thing. I worked hard on it and would appreciate feedback on it. Thanks anyway.**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Renegade Ch.20**

The days following the battle were a little weird. At first, all anyone wanted to do was sleep; apparently even Naruto's vast reserves of stamina had been depleted. They were all tired. Of course, it was very strange, at least to Sakura it seemed so, that they were practically sleeping under the same roof of the people that had tried to kill them a few days ago.

They didn't stay long though. After some basic first aid, and a few splints and such, Zabuza and Haku went their own way. It was sort of strange to finally find out what Zabuza was after, and even stranger still for him to say that that wasn't what he wanted anymore.

Zabuza had told them how he had originally wanted to take over, and become the Mizukage. He didn't think he wanted that anymore though. For a few reasons he decided that he wouldn't, and couldn't follow that path anymore. One was that he had promised Naruto that he would try to do what he knew what was right, and there was no way that he could achieve that dream without a lot of innocents dying, or at least more than could be avoided. On top of that, Zabuza admitted that as powerful as he was, there was no way that he would be able to become that powerful, it just couldn't happen. Sure, there were ways that he could become stronger still, but not strong enough for him to become on par with a Kage.

In the day that Zabuza spent with them, all he really did was sit and think. Not that he could do a whole lot else with his arms broken. When Haku was questioned about it, he simply said that Zabuza was lost right now, and was trying to come up with a new goal, a new dream. Though, Haku admitted that he had no idea what it would be, he even admitted to being a little scared of the idea of not knowing what they were going to do from now on.

When the sun rose the next day, Zabuza and Haku were set and ready to leave. Zabuza told Naruto that he still didn't know what he wanted in life right now, but he was sure he would figure it out eventually. And that if Naruto was ever to find himself in a position of power or in an unsure place so he needed help, that he would not be forgotten. And with that, Zabuza and Haku just walked away. Being honest, Naruto admitted it feeling that the whole thing was a little anti-climatic. Sasuke just laughed and shook it off when Naruto told him this.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

'I was right.' Kakashi thought with a sigh. Kakashi had just left eavesdropping on a conversation between Naruto and Sasuke. He was right as far as the two of them analytically breaking down any and every emotion that they were unfamiliar with.

Sasuke had brought up his theory about having proof of Naruto's conscious. Apparently, Sasuke had figured this out somewhere in the last battle. Other topics of discussion included; why Naruto was so pissed after he thought Sasuke was dead, why he let Haku and Zabuza live, what would be an 'acceptable' dream for Zabuza to pursue without breaking his promise, what else Naruto had to do or thought he had to do to become happy, and finally what and if Sasuke would have to do in order to achieve that as well. This was in turn brought up after Sasuke decided out of curiosity that he wanted to try to be happy as well. Kakashi just shook his head about the various 'theories' the two boys were going through while discussing it. He knew he still had a long way to go before they were at least somewhat 'normal'.

Sakura was a little better; she at least was not traumatized this time around. Her reaction when she heard the two boys talking was pretty much the same that Kakashi's was. She just rolled her eyes and walked away, not wanting to have to deal with it. That was Sakura's typical reaction to either of the two boys' unusual behavior now a days, she was finally become immune to it, often having a simple bored expression on her face.

Another topic that was discussed with all four of them was about the Kyubi, and the 'abilities' that Naruto demonstrated during the fight. They all took turns asking him questions about it, or rather, Kakashi did most of the talking. Kakashi asked the important questions, helped clear up the technical aspects of it, and checked his seal a couple times. The other three mostly focused on what triggered the fox chakra, and if he could do it at will.

While Kakashi wasn't entirely sure on all of the effects of this part of the contract, as the beginning stages were actually a lot hazier than the later stages. He was sure of what had happened to Naruto, what it did to his body, and the advantages and disadvantages it gave him. Though something that was unexpected was how Naruto described being in control. He admitted to being in a state of rage, but it was more like cold fury than anything else. Kakashi also concluded that Naruto's natural healing affinity was greatly increased. The only reason that he was so tired was probably because of the transformation. All of his injuries were healed the next day.

When Kakashi related that it was probably related to the seal, this sparked yet another conversation between the two boys regarding Naruto's psyche. Both Sakura and Kakashi just rolled their eyes and left them to it. These conversations typically went on for anywhere from five minutes, to several hours. Most of the time they didn't even make sense. As deep and intelligent as Sasuke and Naruto were, it was still hard for them to dissect emotions if they had never felt the majority of them, thus this resulted in some very outlandish theories that sometimes were just plain ridiculous. It was actually amusing to Sakura to listen to them, sometimes they were surprisingly deep, and other times they were just stupid.

One time Naruto and Sasuke had somehow come to the conclusion that because Naruto hadn't eaten enough cereal as a little kid, that somehow resulted in his aggressive nature. Even Kakashi had laughed when he heard this. Sakura didn't even want to know about the conversation that resulted in that conclusion.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The trip back to Konoha was predictably dull, but pleasant. Even though they were in no hurry, as they had been gone for awhile, they were still in a rush to get back. They had been gone for over two months, and they all felt at least a little home sick. Well, Sakura did, Naruto and Sasuke just wanted to get back for more training, more missions, and decent food. Not only that, but they all wanted a real bed. While they had slept in beds at Tazuna's place, they weren't their beds.

So, with this in mind, they all hauled ass back to Konoha. After about a week, they were there. They really didn't feel like reporting to the Hokage right away, but it had to be done. However, Kakashi could see how tired his team was, so he let them off the hook and told them that he would do it himself.

While Sasuke and Naruto simply looked a little drained, and just needed a day or two to do nothing, Sakura was a different story. She clearly needed a new wardrobe. No matter how much she had washed her clothes, they were still a dull red and brown color because of the massive amount of blood that had soaked into the fabric. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to care. Sakura had also developed a kind of apathy towards her outward appearance, at least what other people thought of it anyway. This was probably due to her two teammates continued influence on her, as well as her now frequent brushes with death. That tended to push things like social acceptance farther down on the list of what was important to people.

After they had finally gotten past the gate, they decided that they would all go get something to eat at Naruto's favorite ramen stand for a final meal together before they went their separate ways. But before they could get there, they were intercepted by some random civilian. The man simply walked up to them and informed them all that he had locked himself out of his home.

Kakashi just repressed a sigh.

"What would you like us to do about that sir?" Kakashi asked in a carefully calm tone, years of experience in dealing with stupid civilians told him that this was going to be a headache.

The civilian just blinked. "Can't you guys just use your master key?" he said in a confused tone.

All of them almost face faulted at this, every shinobi had heard that one before. It was one of the many stupid assumptions that people had about ninjas. Though they could simply pick the locks, it still got very annoying to deal with stupid people assuming that shinobi had all of these universal tools of the trade that every ninja had. Just as Kakashi was about to tell the idiot off, as he was in no mood to patronize random people at the moment, it was surprisingly Sakura that spoke up.

"AHHH, THE MAAASTER KEY," Sakura exclaimed with wide eyes, while she was waving her arms around for dramatic emphasis. "THE MAGICAL KEY THAT OPENS EEVERY LOCK IN THE WHOOOLE VILLAGE." After this, even Kakashi couldn't help but laugh; the civilian just adopted the tomato look and walked away in a hurry. Naruto and Sasuke however were practically rolling on the ground in hysterical laughter.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Sir, with all respect, are you out of your mind?" Kakashi asked astounded that the Hokage had not simply failed to execute Danzo, but warned him of his knowledge of his involvement. Sarutobi just sighed, as much he hated to admit it, he did think that he made a mistake, but he did have valid reasons behind his decision.

"Believe me, I understand your view on it, but there are too many unknown factors." Sarutobi said rubbing his temples. "Danzo has many allies in high places. Not only that, but I recently became aware that he has secretly reestablished his ROOT organization." The aged Hokage replied bitterly. Kakashi's one eye widened in horror, that was very bad news indeed.

"With all of this being known, there is no way to know the amount of repercussions that would follow Danzo's death. Not only political backlash, but who knows what his ROOT operatives would do without absolute leadership. They may follow their programming for a while, but eventually their orders will be completed, and they will be left without purpose."

Kakashi could only nod in acceptance. As it was, it too dangerous to kill Danzo right now, they couldn't afford a possible civil war with forces that were probably on par with ANBU.

"Be that as it may, I do admit that it was a mistake to let Danzo know of my awareness to the situation, I am slipping in my age." Sarutobi said in another bitter sigh. Kakashi couldn't help but feel a pity for the old man. His age was truly starting to show.

"All other factors aside for the moment, what of your last mission? You and your team were gone for quite awhile longer than was originally estimated." The Hokage asked, interested once again and glad for the distraction. Hearing about Naruto was always, interesting, especially with Kakashi's chuckle, that didn't happen without real cause.

"Now that, is a very long story." Kakashi said with an amused tone. Sarutobi just raised an eyebrow, this sounded promising.

And it was indeed promising as Sarutobi found out as he listened to Kakashi's report. At the end of it, there was silence for a moment.

"First of all, are you sure the seal is still holding?" the old man in full Hokage mode. Before he could be engrossed in the little gossip that was aloud for a man in his position, he had to make sure that the village was safe. Thankfully, Kakashi assured him that the seal was in fact working perfectly and that the Kyubi seemed to be honest about its claims. However, the Hokage was skeptical about his decision to let Zabuza go, he was a dangerous man. The Hokage was sure, that even if he were in his prime, Zabuza would have given him a little bit of trouble. And coming from him, that was saying something.

"I wouldn't worry too much about him, I'm fairly certain that he will keep his promise, if for no other reason than to avoid Naruto's wrath. While Naruto couldn't hope to defeat him right now, Zabuza knows that he will eventually be able to. But that aside, I'm almost positive that Naruto somehow managed to truly change him in some way, it's almost scary how he did it really." Kakashi said with a thoughtful look, the Hokage couldn't help but agree.

"Anyway, I also believe that Naruto did indeed make a powerful ally. Should Zabuza succeed, no matter in how small a way, I have absolute faith that he will be loyal to Naruto." The Hokage couldn't help but also agree with this. Perhaps it was a wise decision to make. Zabuza was the third seat of the seven swordsman of the mist. And having anyone of them as a practically guaranteed ally in the future could only mean good things, probably.

"Anyway, I am proud of Naruto. I think it's safe to assume that we no longer need to worry about Naruto going rouge on us in the future so long as we don't betray his trust." Kakashi said now all business again. The Hokage nodded as he added his own piece to that statement.

"I agree, not only that, but this will certainly almost ruin whatever plan Danzo has for him, as it stands now anyway. If Danzo wants to have a chance to secure a hold on him, he will have to modify his plans, and move soon." Sarutobi said smugly, happy at the thought of anything troubling Danzo. While it was certainly worrisome to know that Danzo would make a move soon, they would just have to keep a closer eye on Naruto.

"I'm going to assign Naruto a light ANBU guard detail. Their sole purpose will simply be to ensure that none of Danzo's ROOT operatives get too close to Naruto. Anything else will be up to their judgment whether or not to interfere." Sarutobi said, his mind already made up. Kakashi just nodded, it made sense. Besides, such assignments were common for rookie ANBU agents that were new to the organization.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After a few days rest, team seven was back at it. Kakashi had told them that for the next few days they would all just do regular exercises and spar some, then he would start to teach them all some new jutsu, some more advanced chakra control techniques, as well as give them time to get used to and start mastering their new equipment.

**Flashback:**

"Alright, now, go and see if there's anything that catches your eye." Kakashi said as they all left their new armor at the counter of Tenchi's weapon shop.

Before their first training session, Kakashi had taken them all to buy some new equipment. Kakashi hadn't put a whole lot of thought into Naruto's weapon predicament but he was happy with Naruto's attitude of it. While Naruto was a little surprised and a little annoyed at Kakashi's suggestion to get something else other than a sword, as he had spent years learning to master it, he quickly got over it and thought it was for the best. Even Sasuke was surprised at Naruto's willingness to start over just like that.

Before any of that though, Kakashi decided that they all needed some form of armor. Sasuke and Naruto were easy, besides their own personal preference of clothing surrounding the armor, they got the same thing. Sasuke bought something similar to Naruto's armored pants, they were still excellent pieces. For their upper bodies, Naruto decided against the whole trench coat thing this time around. Instead, both he and Sasuke went with a light combat protective piece. It was simply a one piece of armor that protected their entire torso, as well as their triceps and shoulders.

As for weapons, Sasuke decided to try Kakashi's advice. After a little bit of consulting with Naruto, Sasuke just decided to buy a very good sword. It was a little longer than Naruto's ninjato, but it was more or less the same blade. Naruto was harder though, after wandering a little while, while considering the advice from everyone, Naruto finally made a decision. He settled on a pair of wicked looking blades that Tenchi called Ulaks. They were apparently trench knives modified for combat.

**(If you have ever seen the chronicles of Riddick, or played the game Assault on Dark Athena, then you know exactly what the Ulaks are.)**

Sakura on the other had decided to not get a weapon and just stick with regular kunai. This was perfectly exemptible as that was pretty much what Kakashi himself did.

**End flashback:**

This of course silenced any and all complaints that any of them had. Kakashi had even promised to teach Sakura some new jutsu.

However, right between spars, Hinata, much to Naruto's pleasure, decided to visit. She was worried, she hadn't seen Naruto for months and she missed the boy. Though she would never admit that, or at least be able to say it like that. Though Hinata had changed some, she was still a very long way away from admitting her crush to Naruto. And for that matter, Naruto was still always away from even being able to return her feelings.

Even still though, it was obvious that Hinata was becoming boulder. She had changed her appearance to a slightly more formfitting form of clothing. It was not for fashion however, Naruto had inspired her to indeed take her training, and carrier more seriously. All of her outward appearance changes were made for pure tactical purposes. Her clothes now resembled more towards standard ninja clothing, with the exception of them having a little more padding and hard leather armor. She even changed the colors she wore, instead of the slightly purple and lavender clothes that she used to wear, her new gear was almost completely black, with crimson under mesh shirt visible underneath. Her motivation for these colors was obvious.

Her sensei had readily encouraged this. Kurenai dressed the part of a true kunoichi. She dressed, and looked very sexy to give the slight advantage, no matter how small of the distraction in battle. However, dressing the way she and Anko did didn't suit all kunoichi. She had come to the conclusion that Hinata would look a lot sexier if she dressed in a tactical, and perhaps slightly more masculine way. Some woman just looked better if they looked tomboyish. She could tell Hinata was definitely that type. Not only that, but her hair style had begun to compliment her newfound self confidence as well.

After Hinata participated in the mission to punish her sister's tormentors, Hinata had grown up considerably, it reflected in nearly all aspects of her life. She grew more aggressive in all of her actions, and definitely more ruthless as well. While she was still very kind most of the time, she was learning to stand up for herself. She was also starting to care less and less of other people's opinion as well, especially her fathers. Her hair reflected this, she no longer groomed and cut it on a daily basis to maintain her noble appearance. It now looked like the beginnings of the Inuzuka's fierce look.

Surprisingly for Hinata, her father didn't mind. As much as Hinata had grown, she would have obeyed her father if he had so much as suggested her to go back to her previous appearance. However, he didn't seem to mind in the least, on the contrary, he seemed to start to show her some form of respect, once or twice actually going out of his way to give her some extra personalized instruction.

Kurenai, being the observant woman that she was, was completely aware of the source of her students change, Naruto Uzumaki. She was not afraid to admit that despite knowing that the boy was no threat to her at the moment, he scared her. He while being very disturbed because of his upbringing, she knew this and couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid. Never the less, she didn't want much of anything to do with him. However, her opinion was steadily changing.

She hadn't heard a whole lot about him, other than from Hinata herself, and she couldn't rely on Hinata to provide an unbiased viewpoint as her crush for the boy was obvious. However, Naruto's actions almost spoke for themselves. Even though the kid was very sadistic, she was now convinced that he had at least some semblance of a conscious. Not only that, but she was grateful that he was the reason that Hinata was coming out of her shell. And so with that in mind, she decided that she would ask Kakashi for his honest opinion on the boy, she owed him that much.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hinata shyly walked up to the group as she saw that they were now taking a break. As she approached she let herself be noticed, as well as starting to sport a healthy blush when Naruto looked at her with a genuine smile and waved. With a deep breath Hinata approached and joined the group.

As soon as Hinata joined them Naruto began telling her every detail about their two month mission. 'Every detail'.

"I mean how fucking awesome is that? I'm just like 'the' Yellow Flash!" Naruto exclaimed proudly. Hinata was in a mild form of shock. Naruto had just revealed that he was a jinchuuriki, a natural born killer, and that he was proud of it. Hinata just looked blankly at his teammates. Sakura just had a bored expression on her face as she was apparently either used to this, or was just tired of being surprised at Naruto's bizarre behavior. Sasuke, even with his limited knowledge of emotions, could easily see how little tact Naruto had used just then. Hinata saw that he was just rolling his eyes at Naruto's explanation. Kakashi on the other hand was rubbing his one eye while he was shaking his head. Even the two ANBU agents who were hidden about fifty feet away shared a look of disbelief.

After a moment of thought, Hinata made up her mind and responded. "Yes Naruto-kun, I suppose that is f-f-fucking awesome." Hinata stuttered out the last part in a rushed whisper along with a huge blush. At this Sakura laughed out loud, that was obviously the first time Hinata had cursed in her whole life.

After a few more minutes, and several more deep blushes as Kakashi teased Hinata for cursing, something happened that opened Sakura's eyes to a big secret. It happened near the end of their lunch. Naruto, finally noticing Hinata's new look, complimented her on it. Naruto, not truly knowing the real meaning of the word yet, or at least knowing the actual feeling behind it, described Hinata as sexy. Hinata promptly fainted. After a laugh or two of Naruto almost freaking out over Hinata, as he had thought for a moment that she had died, Sakura caught on to Hinata's crush with a shock, and a shocked expression to match.

At first she didn't know what to think, she looked to Sasuke first, as Naruto was obviously clueless. Sasuke was also equally confused and didn't seem to realize any of it yet. She then looked to Kakashi and the two of them shared a knowing look. Kakashi said without saying anything, 'I know right? I don't get it either.'

Kakashi was also sure that the two rookie ANBU agents were in a similar state of shock. ANBU agents never gossiped about S ranked missions, but this wasn't an S rank mission. Both him and the Hokage had decided that this was best classified as an A class mission. Danzo would know that the two ANBU were watching Naruto, but as Danzo already knew that they knew that he was interested in Naruto, they decided that the benefits outweighed the risks. While the two agents wouldn't be able to do a whole lot if Danzo really wanted to get into contact or take Naruto, it served more as a warning. A warning that told him how far they were willing to go to protect Naruto.

Anyway, because this wasn't an S class mission, gossip between ANBU operatives wasn't forbidden. Though it was frowned upon if the gossip in question didn't have any real relevance. However, the fact that the Hyuga heiress had fallen for the village pariah and jinchuuriki definitely warranted as relevant. Kakashi just shook his head, thankful for the fact that though the entire ANBU community would soon become aware of this, it would not go beyond that, at least until someone else bothered to look at the way that Hinata either looked, or didn't look at Naruto.

After Hinata recovered, she stayed a little longer to watch them train, but soon had to leave herself to go on a mission. They said their goodbyes, and then went back at it. After another hour or so, Sakura was forced to interfere in the two boy's spar. They were starting to take it too far and were in danger of really hurting each other, not that they cared though. Kakashi just let Sakura do it, truth be told he was about to stop it himself, but he decided to go ahead and let Sakura do it. She was the unofficial team medic anyway, and as a medic it was her job to step in on these kinds of things.

It went better than Kakashi thought it would go. He was a little worried that the boys would either ignore her completely, resulting in her having to get into the fight herself, or actually attack her. Both of which would have ended up in Sakura most likely going for another trip to the hospital. However, it didn't go that way. Sakura had yelled loud enough to get their attentions', and then told them why the match was over. After a moment of thought, they both kind of shrugged and consented to call it quits. At this point, both boys respected her enough to believe that she knew what she was talking about, so they followed her advice.

"Good job, all of you." Kakashi said with his eye smile at his exhausted team. "As promised, tomorrow I will teach you all some new jutsu to work on. I will also give you three some new maneuvers to work on so you can combine the jutsus and techniques." Kakashi said smugly, seeing the excited looks on all three of them. So with that, Kakashi just shushunied away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

All three Genin were waiting impatiently at the training grounds. Though they were all used to Kakashi's tardiness by now, it was particularly annoying today. Apparently though, Kakashi was expecting them to be both excited, and impatient. Instead of his usual hour and a half to two hours, he was almost three hours late today. While Kakashi was amused at the expressions that were being produced from his team, he was no fool. Right now they were plotting various forms of vengeance, and if he didn't act soon, it wouldn't matter cool the jutsu he taught them were, they would still torment him.

With a poof Kakashi appeared. Despite the death glares he was getting he still went ahead and gave one of his favorite excuses.

"Sorry about that, the road of life is full of many distractions." Kakashi said pleasantly.

"There's a fucking surprise." Sakura growled to herself, though her teammates nodded in agreement anyway.

"Don't look so put out now, today I'm actually going to teach you three something." Kakashi said pleasantly again. While they were excited, they still glared at him. With the exception of the tree walking exercise, they hadn't really been taught much of anything, Tiajutsu aside. All they had really been doing was conditioning exercises.

"Anyway, each of you take these slips of paper." Kakashi said as he gave each of them two small slips of white paper. "This is to test your elemental affinities. After you channel chakra into them, depending on their reaction, it will reveal your affinities." Kakashi explained while he demonstrated with a slip of paper of his own. The paper seemed to crinkle up for no apparent reason.

While they were all a little skeptical still, their curiosity was quickly overcoming that. They each did as Kakashi instructed and channeled chakra into the paper. One of Sasuke's papers burned, while the other one crinkled up like Kakashi's. Both of Naruto's were cut in half, while both of Sakura's just fell apart. They all just looked to Kakashi for answers.

"Well, that is more or less what I expected. What this means is that; Sasuke, you have an affinity to both fire and lightning, Naruto, you have an affinity for wind, and Sakura you have an affinity for earth jutsu." Kakashi said with an eye smile. Seeing the questions on all three of their faces Kakashi decided to just take the initiative and explain everything so he wouldn't have to deal with all of the questions that would need to be asked for them to get everything.

"All right, now I will explain what all this is about." Kakashi said adopting the teaching pose. "What all of this means is that these papers just revealed what kind of jutsus you three can do at the moment." Kakashi saw the even more confused looks and proceeded to explain.

"now that I know what your affinities are, I know what I can teach you right now, or at least on what path I can start you all on." Kakashi stopped here giving them a moment to soak this in, before he continued though, Naruto spoke up.

"Kakashi sensei, why does Sasuke have two affinities while me and Sakura only have one." Naruto asked confused, with a hint of jealously, though Naruto probably didn't realize it.

"Good question. The answer is that both you and Sakura almost definitely have more than one affinity as well. The only reason Sasuke's second affinity is as pronounced as it is now is because he has been using fire elemental jutsus for years. Therefore his body is more attuned to it and is able to draw out his second affinity. In time both you and Sakura's second and possibly third affinities will become clear." They all seemed relieved, even Sasuke. Kakashi guessed that Sasuke probably liked the fact that he couldn't have that big of an advantage over Naruto, that he wanted Naruto to be able to constantly challenge him.

"However, this doesn't mean that you three can't learn jutsus that you don't have an affinity too." Kakashi said pleasantly noting the slightly shocked expressions on their faces. "While the elemental jutsus that you use that you aren't affiliated with will work, there will be some handicaps. For one, they will always require more chakra as well as be much harder to master. You will also never be able to perform the truly powerful and higher ranking jutsus, actually it will be incredibly hard to actually do any jutsu above C rank." They all nodded in understanding.

"So, with all of this now understood, I'm going to start teaching you all jutsu that will support your own styles." Kakashi said with a smile.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Ok, I know that I'm making Zabuza stronger than he was in the cannon. But guess what, it's my story so HA! Anyways, sorry for the lack of action this chapter, not a whole lot happened. But I felt that it was important build up for the rest of the story. Also, unless I think of another kick ass little arch, the Chunin exams will come up in the next chapter or two. Please review and let my know what you think.**_


	21. Chapter 21

Renegade Ch.21

It was the morning after they started training in new jutsus, and Naruto had spent the night at Sasuke's place as he was truly exhausted from the pace that Kakashi had put him through. Kakashi had made personal training regiments for them to follow. Naruto, being lucky at having huge reserves of chakra, was using basic jutsu in combination with his regular forms. Over and over again. More or less, Kakashi was making him not only start to use the new wind jutsu that he taught him, but he was making him use it while he was sparing against shadow clones. Not only that, but the shadow clones also used the jutsu against him.

Sasuke's training was different. Because Sasuke already had a very good grasp on fire jutsu, Kakashi was starting him on the basics of lighting jutsu. Unfortunately, Sasuke was very frustrated with it even though he knew that Kakashi wasn't wasting his time. Because the first jutsus were not all that strong, that meant that they happened to be relatively close to the user. Lighting was unstable for beginners, and possible dangerous. So for now, Kakashi was just having him work on his chakra control with very basic jutsu that would have no effect in combat what so ever.

Sakura's training also sucked for her. Earth didn't require as much chakra control, at least not at first. Instead it needed pure force of willpower to force the earth to move. Though it wasn't what Sakura thought it was. Later on she would learn that it wasn't so much about having the will power to make the jutsu work, but more about the conviction behind it. You couldn't think that the jutsu would work, or even if it would be effective. You had to have the conviction to know it was going to work, even if it wasn't.

So with that in mind, Kakashi put more weights on her, made her work out on the sandy shore of one of Konoha's many lakes, and had her try to do the jutsu in sand. This was a lot harder than it would be on solid ground. But Kakashi knew what he was doing. Even with how much Sakura had grown up, she wasn't quite where she needed to be mentally, but she was getting there. Naruto didn't even know how right he was when he told Sakura that she had to get pissed in combat, and then harness, control, and unleash that anger. That was exactly what Sakura needed to do, get pissed off. So, Kakashi put her through exercises that would actually slow down her progress as she was so early in her training. But that wasn't the point.

While Sakura might master some more jutsu on solid ground, they wouldn't have the raw power that each jutsu needed to be truly effective. And so with Sakura putting everything into trying to improve, seemingly getting nowhere, it being very hard to do any way, and having Kakashi make slight suggestions that she may actually be slacking in her training. The result was Sakura first getting frustrated, then getting very pissed off. So much so that when she was tired and forced to take a break, and Kakashi came by to hassle her, she actually yelled back at him. Cursing, yelling, and just plain telling him to go fuck himself. The reason that Kakashi didn't hit her like he did Naruto back in wave was because this was exactly what he was trying to achieve. The whole point of her training right now was to provoke her killer instinct to come out.

Kakashi knew it was there, what she did to Gato was proof of that. But she couldn't summon it up without being truly provoked yet. Kakashi was aiming to change that. Sakura needed to get mean in combat. She needed to learn to take Naruto's advice to heart. She needed to learn to hate anyone who was trying to take away her life, and everything that went with it. She needed to learn to understand it, control it, harness it, and unleash it on to every bastard that she engaged in mortal combat, no matter what the reason they were fighting for. Even after all of this though, there was still another reason to get her pissed off, her bloodline limit,personality defect, whatever you wanted to call it.

The Haruno family did not have a bloodline that did anything physical at all; it didn't really do anything that the person couldn't train themselves to do. No, their blood limit was more of a genetic quark, and the reason that Sakura had such a small family, many of them went schizophrenic after too long, especially if they didn't know what was going on. They had the ability to create an almost alternate personality. While this wasn't exactly the truth, if the person ever completely broke down, things could get complicated. While these alternate personas couldn't actually control or posses the body, that didn't stop them from influencing the person. This was what made it so dangerous.

Kakashi had had a deep conversation with Sakura's father after they had gotten back from wave. Her father was one of the few that could actually control his 'gift'. While he wasn't actually a ninja, his talents had saved a lot of lives in the last war. With full mastery of this technique, it was theoretically possible to dispel any Genjutsu. Of course, that is if the user can ignore the occasional whispers that can possibly drive the user psychotic over time.

Sakura's father, Junichi, had gotten Inoichi Yamanaka to block out his persona after the war, at least after it was confirmed that he would never be able to fight again, thus there being no reason for the persona anymore. Even still, assuming it could be controlled, it was a very useful thing to have around. Because of his talent, Junichi had saved a lot of lives. While he couldn't use jutsu, it didn't mean that jutsu couldn't be contained in sealing scrolls. It was popular in combat between samurai to use some form of Genjutsu during combat, or before an ambush as very few were trained to sense Genjutsu, and even fewer had the know how to do anything about it.

Kakashi had asked Junichi to tell him as much about it as he could. Junichi had told him how to 'activate' the persona, and how to start to control it. Junichi had said that he never had the time, or proper training to learn to control it. He was a samurai, not a ninja. Not only that, but his persona didn't manifest itself until he was well into the war. He had just assumed that because he wasn't a ninja, it would never show up, but it did.

Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about going psychotic because of the whispers that he was never trained to deal with. No, it was already too late for that. Combat for regular people is not a nice place to be, in fact, it's just as bad if not worse than combat between ninja. Because of all he had seen, most of his regular personality had already shut down. By the time his persona appeared, most of his humanity was already gone, sealed away inside his own mind. The war itself saved him from himself.

All Kakashi needed to know was how to invoke the ability, and anything that he knew about how to control it. It was definitely a risk, but Sakura deserved any and every chance to survive that she could get. Besides, other than dispelling Genjutsu, there wasn't anything else that it could do. And Kakashi wasn't about to actually encourage this unless he was sure that it could be controlled. On the other hand, seeing as she was going to be in combat anyway, there was probably nothing that could be done to stop it from manifesting anyway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke yawned as he headed down stairs to eat breakfast, not surprised to see that Naruto was already awake. The Kyubi restoring his chakra, and stamina. Before the mission to wave, Naruto would have still been tired, now large gashes would heal completely in a matter of hours. Even still, he did keep the light scars that went with them. Naruto was ok with that though, in fact, he actually liked them. In the near future Naruto would explain why.

"How's your report coming along dumbass?" Sasuke asked as he sat down with some cereal. This was because both Naruto and Sasuke actually believed their theory on the lack of cereal accelerating aggression. The reason behind Sasuke actually asking Naruto how he was doing in filling out his mission report was because of an agreement between the two boys.

While neither of them actually cared about things like that, and they really considered it a waste of time to ask these questions, they had both agreed that they were important all the same. They had come to the conclusion that a stepping stone to being happy was at least trying to care about other people's business. It was a difficult decision to make, but they decided that they could still take it slow. As in asking questions that wouldn't actually lead any where important, thus leaving them free of the obligations to get involved in other peoples fucking business.

"Good morning fag, and ya its going fine." Naruto said as he was putting the finishing touches on his report about the mission to wave. Out of curiosity, Sasuke looked over Naruto's shoulder to take a peek at his report; Sasuke had to stop himself from palming himself in the face. Naruto was describing his clones 'asvault' on the mansion.

"There's no 'v' in assault dumbass." Sasuke said actually experiencing being amused. Naruto just looked back and forth between Sasuke and the report, thinking that Sasuke was just jerking him around.

"It's a silent 'v' fucker." Naruto responded with conviction. At this Sasuke actually did give a genuine laugh for the first time in a long time. And thus an argument ensued that ended up with a very embarrassed Naruto, and several other mistakes in his report.

After Sasuke got over laughing at Naruto, he actually decided to help him out with his spelling. If for no other reason than to make good on their agreement.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Naruto, how would you train to defeat a true prodigy?" Sasuke asked in a thinking pose as he sat on one of the poles on the training grounds. They had all gotten their warm ups and pre work out done, so they could start the real training as soon as Kakashi showed up, which should be in about a half hour or so.

"Hmm, you're talking about your brother right?" Naruto asked also in a thinking tone. Sakura also got involved in the conversation.

"What exactly are you worried about overcoming? Is it something specific you need to get better at, or just get better over all?" Sakura asked also in her brain storming mode. Sasuke just nodded at her legitimate input.

"Well it is over all, but it also is mainly on overcoming his sharingan. While he activated it while he was still in the academy, I have yet to accomplish it." Sasuke said in a slightly worried tone. Now it was Naruto's turn.

"Well, we'll help you with that, but as for the rest of it, I'm honestly not sure. I mean, I don't know how we can train any harder, and for that matter Kakashi isn't wasting our time either." Sasuke just nodded and just started thinking again. Suddenly Sakura spoke up with a happy look.

"Hey I know, Kakashi was considered a child prodigy right?" both Naruto and Sasuke nodded indicating that they were following.

"Well, who better to ask how to get stronger than a genius, than a genius? I mean, no one is immortal, nor are they invincible. Other than the Hokage, Kakashi is our best bet on getting answers." Sakura said pleased with herself as she saw the two boys faces light up as well.

"Well, actually yes, I can answer your questions." Kakashi said with his eye smile suddenly being right next to them without them noticing him sneaking up on them. Kakashi never ceased to amaze the three Genin.

After they all kind of got over their shock, not only because Kakashi had gotten the drop on all of them, but because he was earlier than usual, the answers were given.

"Well, to answer your question Sasuke I have to explain some other things in order for it to make sense. So bear with me, ok?" after Sasuke nodded he continued.

"There are a couple different types of shinobi; each has their own traits that the others can't have, though it is a good thing is some cases. The first kinds are the people that probably shouldn't have become shinobi to begin with. They have no natural talent, as well as lacking the drive to get stronger. These are people who pretty much stay Genin, or low class Chunin their entire carriers." They all nodded, they had all seen these kind of ninja before. Besides Iruka, most academy teachers were just that.

"Now the next class of shinobi either have some natural talent, or they have the drive to force themselves to become stronger. These ninja usually attain the rank of elite Chunin, or sometimes special Jonin. Special Jonin are typically low grade Jonin who do have good skills in one particular area. Though they are strong, they can never get any stronger than that." Kakashi said now leaning against another post as he was explaining all of this.

"Now, we have the geniuses, or the prodigies that only come around once or twice a generation. These people have such an incredible amount of natural talent that they are all but guaranteed to make elite Jonin, or even achieve Kage level. I can say with no ego, that I am one such person. While I was never able to achieve Kage level, there are very few in this village that can hope to defeat me, even among the ANBU operatives." Kakashi said all of this with a straight face. He had gotten over himself a long time ago. At this point, all three of them were wide eyed at the bold statement that Kakashi had just made, only causing them to respect him even more. Even the two ANBU agents watching this happen knew he was right. Kakashi Hatake's reputation in ANBU would probably never be forgotten.

"Now, onto the final type of shinobi. These are the people that are not geniuses, instead, they are gifted." None of the Genin understood what he meant but they kept their mouths shut. "What I mean by gifted is that they also have an insane amount of natural talent, only it's different than that of someone who is a genius. While it's true that ninjas whom are hailed as prodigies advance unbelievably fast, often becoming Jonin before most of their peers are even Chunin, they all inevitably hit a plateau. Like Naruto who is able to think in ways that we can't, the same is true for geniuses. Because their brains are hardwired that way, they are able to absorb knowledge and much faster than anybody else; however, this also means that they don't have much of an imagination.

"While this may seem untrue because they often come up with techniques never seen before, the reality is that these techniques are only created because they have advanced knowledge of the 'general' theories, extension on the path that the general direction is taken. It's the only reason their hailed as geniuses, they just progress faster than other people, and take the streamlined consepts and take them to the next level.

Now gifted people on the other hand are something else entirely. While they seem to just have a regular amount of natural talent, it's something else entirely. The only reason that they don't advance as quickly is because they don't learn the same way as everyone else. The educational system is designed to teach the majority of the masses, and since gifted people are so rare, it is a little unfair to hold just normal people back for their sake. If these gifted people are identified though, they are pulled aside for special instruction, though this hasn't happened in awhile." Kakashi said in his normal tone. "As rare as true geniuses come around like Itachi, it's even rarer for someone whom is truly gifted to be born.

Gifted people are born with the innate ability to look underneath the underneath. They can make things happen that would never have been thought of otherwise. Their thought process is such that it isn't streamlined like everyone else's. They can grow in whatever direction they chose. Though of course, even gifted people have affinities to certain things. Naruto, you have a natural affinity to death, to killing. You can think in ways that very few in history can.

"As for you two, I have ideas, but I will not share them. That needs to happen on your own, you have to find and pursue your own dreams." Kakashi finished in a tone that couldn't be anything other than wisdom.

All three of them took a moment to digest all of this before Kakashi continued.

"Now, to answer your question Sasuke, you will be able to defeat, and surpass your brother because you are not a genius, you are gifted, as are you Naruto, as are you Sakura." Kakashi finished with an eye smile. That however, did stop all three of them in their tracks; Kakashi had more or less told them that they had the potential to get to Kage level. Sakura was the first to speak up, though Kakashi could tell that she was self conscious.

"Um, are you sure about me? And if you are, is that why you are teaching us, because you knew what we were, therefore you knew how to train us?" Sakura asked almost hesitantly, her insecurity obvious. Kakashi just sighed, her discomfort was not unfounded.

"To be honest Sakura, when I first got this team I was only sure of Naruto being gifted, I suspected Sasuke, but I wasn't sure. At first I thought that you were just going to end up being a perpetual Genin." Sakura winced at this. "But I now know I was wrong. I would not lie to you about this Sakura; the proof is right in front of you. Just look at how far you have come in just a few months. If you weren't gifted, it would have taken you at least a year and a half to get to where you are now. There is no other explanation." Sakura's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Now, the reason that it seems that while you're all making progress, and you're still not getting to that level fast enough. I know that it seems that at the pace your going it will take about a hundred years to get to Kage level, but you're wrong. Though you don't realize it yet, your rate of progress is steadily increasing as you get stronger. You will see, in a few months, you'll look back at your progress from here to now and you'll notice a difference." After this was said, all three of them seemed to relax, especially Sasuke. Naruto was the next one to ask a question, and it was a somewhat practical one as is way.

"Kakashi sensei, could you tell us if we know the names of gifted people?" Naruto asked with genuine excitement in his voice.

"Actually yes, both the third and fourth Hokage's were gifted. How do you think that two people, neither of whom were part of a clan when they were young, ended up being so powerful? The third in his prime was hailed as a god among shinobi, and he isn't any slouch in his old age either. The fourth on the other hand, became, at least in my and many other people's opinions, the most powerful ninja of all time." Now it was Naruto's turn for his eyes to become as wide as saucers.

"Well, with that out of the way, who's ready to start today's training?" Kakashi said with an eye smile as he made two shadow clones. All three of them grinned.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"It burns." Naruto moaned out while he was just lying down on the ground next to his teammates. Neither of them said anything, it was just another way of agreeing with him though. Kakashi had put them all through another day of hell. Even Naruto's seemingly unlimited reserves of stamina had been obliterated. Training was no longer limited to day time, oh no, not since they became aware that they were 'gifted'. They were all very much regretting ever hearing that now.

Naruto was currently debating whether or not to just curl up in a ball and sleep right there when Sakura finally got up.

"Come on, we only have like six and a half hours before training starts again." Sakura said bitterly. Both boys groaned at the realization that she was right. So with that knowledge, they all went to the closest beds available, Sasuke's house. A reoccurring event that was happening more and more often, they were all so tired that none of them even cared anymore.

While neither Sasuke nor Naruto actually ever had a 'life' outside of training, Sakura did. This was something that did used to get in her way somewhat. This new training regiment rectified that problem. She need no longer worry about her social life now, that being because it no longer existed. Without her even realizing it yet, her entire life at the moment revolved around training, and her team.

**Seven hours later:**

"Are we even going to try to get there somewhat on time?" Sakura asked as she walked in on the two boys sitting down at a table calmly eating breakfast. Sakura was pleased that not only was she not the only one to smell like old sweat and blood, but she was also not the only one to look like shit either. None of them had bothered to bathe last night, they simply found a room, striped, and passed out. Yesterdays training had been particularly brutal. It was only out of respect for Sasuke that they actually took their gear off at all. No need to get his beds dirtier than need be.

Right now at least Sasuke looked beat up, Naruto just looked tired. Naruto, while still dirty, was totally healed from yesterday, while on the other hand both Sasuke and Sakura had several large contusions and even burns. Not to mention all of the gashes that Sakura had stitched up, it was a testament to her new found knowledge of basic medical jutsu of just how little scarring they all had, including Naruto. While he still healed very fast, that didn't mean that his wounds automatically healed correctly though. Sure, the Kyubi's chakra could simply force things to go where they were supposed to, but that did put a lot of strain on the body. While Naruto may not have been permanently hurt from any injury, he was still human. And thus, his body did show signs of wear and tear.

Even with that being said, his scars were significantly less visual than they should have been.

"No not today." Sasuke stated for all of them. Sakura took her seat at the table, no longer fazed, and for that matter no longer even blushing at the fact that neither Sasuke nor Naruto had bothered to put on pants. Apparently boxers and a t-shirt were completely acceptable for a 'family' breakfast. At least it wasn't the other way around, which is them wearing pants, but no shirts. Sakura had almost pulled a 'Hinata' the first time she saw Sasuke without a shirt, that is without her having to plug up and stitch up a wound or something. Now, neither way bothered her in the least.

"Ok," Sakura stated simply as she started to eat. If they were going to be in trouble for being late, they may as well all be in on it. With a collective agreement they all mentally voiced, 'Fuck it', and ate in peace. It was beautiful to them, the first meal in a while where they simply no longer cared about the hell they were going to be put through. No matter what, this morning was theirs, and they were going to milk it for all it was worth.

On top of a house across the street Kakashi just watched the scene progress with a smirk. He however had no plans on interrupting their breakfast. In fact, this was one of the reasons that he had been running them all into the ground for the last week. In fact, it was almost the exact same thing that he had done to Naruto right before he had taken him on his first 'mission'. Kakashi was pleased to see the progress that he had made since then, even though Kakashi knew that Naruto would take no less joy now than he did then when he killed those bandits.

The team 'bonding' was remarkable to watch. They had achieved a level of trust and understanding in a few months that most took a decade to perfect. And practically killing them was a key factor in all of this as well. While Kakashi made sure that his team was never in any real danger of death, he did run them as close as he dared. The only difference between what he had done to Naruto in the forest of death, and what he was doing now was that he made sure that they all were fully conscious. With them being fully aware of everything, they were able to be aware of the very real possibility of literally training themselves to death. Constantly being that aware of death tends to put things into perspective, tends to weed out all of the bullshit.

With this in play, they were getting more results than they would if Kakashi had simply turned them into zombies. While that definitely had its advantages, he wanted them to remember all of this, which was what ultimately made a family. Kakashi knew from experience what it was like to completely lose your team, it was far worse than you could ever prepare for. It was one of the reasons that teams were broken up after the truly dangerous missions started. It was because, assuming the right training was implemented, your team became closer than your real family. Your family, no matter how willing they might be, never put their lives on the line for you. Even if you were fully willing, you never put your life on the line for them on practically a daily basis.

This team would never be broken up, ever. Not only were they getting very powerful together, they possessed wisdom that was far beyond their years. If one or even two of them died on a mission, the third would complete the mission, and wait till it was completely done to morn. Then they would move on, as there was nothing that could be done, and they themselves sure as hell wouldn't want their teammates wallowing in misery if they were dead. Instead, they would honor their memories, tell stories about them, and start look forward to, 'see you on the other side fag'.

The 'family' that was forming in front of him right now was even closer than anything he had ever been a part of.

One had never had a family at all, suffering being alone his entire life, being completely and utterly alone. He would not ever take even the little he had now for granted.

One had had a family, and lost it. Not only that, he had been betrayed by family, and ultimately, left behind. Left behind with the feeling of not even being worthy enough to be killed. Left to wonder why he was the only one to survive. He would never take the little he had for granted.

One until recently didn't actually know who she was. She had basically been an intelligent toddler her entire life. Her teammates were the reason that she grew up before it got her killed. They were the reason that she had an actual purpose in her life. They were the reason that she would never feel like she was being left behind. They were the reason she could look at herself in the mirror and be proud of what she saw. She would die to protect that.

And all of them never had to worry about hiding anything from each other; they didn't care, about any of it. The two boys had seen what the girl was willing to do, how far she was willing to push herself, how much she was willing to sacrifice. And because of this, all of her faults were forgiven, and she was accepted. In return, she forgave them for all of their faults, and accepted them for who they truly were.

Two teammates saw how bloodthirsty their teammate was. They saw that he was proud of it; they saw that he didn't lie about it. They saw that he was a monster. And even knowing all of this, they still saw that he was willing to die for them. And that was all they needed to know. Because of this, they accepted him for who he was, they accepted him for everything he couldn't be. They accepted him because he accepted them.

Two teammates saw how emotionally scarred their teammate was. They saw that he didn't really care about much of anything. They saw that he would never get all of himself back, that a big piece of him died and was never coming back. They saw the shell that he was, and they saw that he would die for either of them in a heartbeat. That was all they needed to know. They accepted him because he accepted them.

In one week, they were closer than most normal families ever became.

'Gifted indeed.' Kakashi thought to himself with a soft smile. 'Well, if they are going eat like a family, they can spend the day like one too.' Kakashi thought with a sense of accomplishment.

The three teammates froze with a feeling of dread when they heard a knock on the door. Both Naruto and Sakura looked to Sasuke; it was 'his' house after all. With a mild glare at them, Sasuke got up, still sore and stiff and stalked to the door. It was exactly who he knew it would be.

"We're going to be late today." Sasuke stated the moment the door was open. He almost shut the door in Kakashi's face before Kakashi responded with a simple, 'I know'. Sasuke was confused, but let Kakashi in to explain himself.

Kakashi walked in and headed right for the dining room and sat down with the beaten up forms of Naruto and Sakura still in their 'pajamas'. Kakashi couldn't help but smirk at the looks he was getting. Sakura, being herself was nervous, while Naruto invented another facial expression. This one was somewhere between him identifying the ironic humor, a part of him being horrified anyway, and a kind of detached acceptance. After a moment of awkwardness, Sasuke sat back down where he was sitting before. Another awkward silence was forming, Kakashi was loving this.

Sakura was just plain getting pissed. Prolonged exposure to her teammates, combined with the stress of the last week had left her with little patience for these sorts of things.

"Well? What do you want? We are tired, we are taking this morning, and we will be there to train in an hour or so." Sakura stated with more conviction than she actually had.

"No you're not." Kakashi stated pleasantly. All three of them hung their heads in despair. "You all get the day off, no training, no missions, sensei's orders." Kakashi finished with an eye smile. All three of them just looked at him blankly, still not understanding it. Apparently they had forgotten what a day off was. With a sigh Kakashi just laid it out that they could do whatever they wanted, though they weren't allowed to train.

"Now what?" Sasuke asked, along with Naruto he had absolutely no idea on what to do. Neither of them had ever had the luxury of doing nothing, for different reasons. Naruto had been forced his entire life to keep a constant vigilance for survival. Whether it be him keeping an eye out for every kind of predator, or making sure there was enough to eat. Later he had to make sure to train as much as he could before, that is before it actually became fun.

Sasuke on the other hand was forced to find things to do as well as train as much as possible. After his family was gone, for a while, Sasuke was at a loss of what to do. At first, before a piece of him completely died, he was desperate for something to do to keep his mind occupied. While training would have been enjoyable, it wasn't. Before he meet Naruto, Sasuke was forced to train so much that it became a chore. This was because he could only imagine what it would take to reach his brothers level.

In any case, neither of them knew what to do with their day.

"Well, I have a mission that I can't take you all on, so while I'm gone, I trust you all to keep up your training." With a sudden addition to that thought Kakashi added. "I also trust you two to respect Sakura's opinion when she tells you that you have gone too far, when she says you need to stop before you seriously hurt yourselves." Kakashi added with a slightly serious tone. Naruto and Sasuke just nodded begrudgingly knowing that both Kakashi and Sakura were right in this. Without Sakura and Kakashi, they probably would have killed each other a long time ago.

"As for what to do with the rest of your day, well, I suggest you follow Sakura's lead. Out of all of you, she is the only one that's actually had a life." Kakashi said with obvious humor in his voice. Sakura also smiled at Naruto's and Sasuke's reactions to this. Neither of them could imagine doing anything outside training. This was going to be fun, along with a little humiliating, for all of them.

Thankfully, Sakura was almost immune to social embarrassment at this point. Putting that aside, Kakashi continued.

"Alright, I should be gone anywhere between a week, and a month, so make sure to keep a schedule, or rather a goal for your training. It's important to set such goals when training unsupervised. For the time being, focus on mastering the jutsus that I've taught all of you, and working on how to work them together to incorporate team work to make them more effective given what you know.

"Don't be afraid to get creative, explore new ideas, just be sure to at least try to be safe when you do this." Kakashi added hurriedly remembering Naruto's last experiment. "Well, I suppose that's it, any other questions?"

After that, things went smoothly. Kakashi stayed for a few minutes to eat with them before he left, partly to tease them. He totally dumbfounded them when he starting eating, and drinking right through his mask. After he left, both of the boys turned to Sakura to figure out what they were going to do for the rest of the day.

Sakura had a few ideas.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Alright, last of the 'filler' chapters for a while, promise. But I still felt like this was needed. Next chapter, Garra makes his appearance, oh man, do I have plans for Garra. lol**_


	22. Chapter 22

**Renegade Ch.22**

For a little while none of them really did anything, then Sakura realized that she was the one that would be planning everything today. First things first, she was cleaning herself up, and with a look at the boys, announced her decision.

"Alright, first of all, we're not going out looking like shit, so we're all going to wash up, and clean our cloths." Sakura said as she headed up stairs towards the master bedroom with the biggest bathroom. It only took a moment for Sasuke to realize what was going on.

"Hey, this is my house!" Sasuke yelled standing up, for whatever reason feeling strangely nervous of Sakura bathing in his bathroom.

"FUCK YOU!" Sakura yelled not even looking back as she was already half way up the stairs. After a moment of thought, Sasuke just decided that it would be a hassle to deal with her. With that in mind though, he told Naruto about the strange feeling he had just experienced.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After about an hour or so, Sakura was finally satisfied that they were all cleaned up enough to go into public. They had all showered, cleaned and taken care of all wounds, and hand washed their cloths.

Both Naruto and Sasuke had refused to go out in anything but their full battle attire. So, Sakura had consented to also wearing it if for no other reason than to associate herself with them. Even still, it didn't completely sit right with Sakura, but she came up with a solution that would be both practical enough for Naruto and Sasuke, while covering up their armor that made them look quite intimidating. Sakura herself had to admit that she looked dangerous in her armor.

After this, Sakura decided that they would mostly just wing it from that point on, though she had a few ideas. Some of which would amuse Naruto's and Sasuke's sense of humor. Sakura herself admitted that she was able to start seeing how it was funny to make people uncomfortable, at least in the ways that Naruto liked to do it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They were in Tenchi's shop looking at cloaks. They had been discussing the pros and cons, as well as consulting with Tenchi himself about the various 'perks' that each cloak had. Eventually, they settled on a cloak that was a very deep colored green, so much so that it was almost black.

These particular cloaks were worn over the shoulders like all other cloaks, as they weren't one pieces'. Though they looked like they were, they actually opened up fully in the front. They only over lapped in the front so they could open up whenever they wanted. Instead of hooking up at the neck, this cloak was designed to stay on better than most. They had several buckles in the front along the chest that could unlock it.

The cloaks themselves also came with hoods that while deep enough to hide their faces in shadow, did not hamper their vision. They were heavy cloaks, having a bit of steel weave in the making, as well as special chakra properties. If they channeled chakra into the cloaks, they could blend in somewhat, kind of like a chameleon. Though it didn't make them invisible, it just helped them somewhat.

Sakura was ok with them because they covered their armor, and didn't look that bad. Unfortunately, they were very expensive, and they had blown all of their mission pay on the armor and weapons. However, Sasuke came to the rescue. He just told Tenchi to bill it to the Uchiha account at the bank. While he couldn't claim all of it, he was allowed to spend some of it on supplies and such. Naruto didn't like the idea at first, he was still wary about owing anyone anything. But after a while, he stopped after Sasuke explained that the money couldn't be spent any other way, and there was a lot of it. Even with how expensive the cloaks had been, it wouldn't even put a dent in the clan's funds.

Next on the agenda were haircuts. Naruto and Sasuke didn't know how to respond to this. Naruto had never even considered that hair could be styled to be 'socially acceptable', and Sasuke didn't see much of a problem with his either. But after some consideration, they both agreed. They trusted Sakura in this, and it wasn't like they cared what other people thought of them anyway.

It actually turned out ok. Sakura had cut more than half of her hair off, and though she had it done in a way that still looked feminine. Naruto had cut a lot of his as well. His hair was only about three inches long, just long enough to show his hair trying to grow out into the crazy wild way that it did. Sasuke only slightly trimmed it a little bit, while keeping the same shape, it did make a difference.

By now, it was half past noon, and Sakura had at least one more thing that she wanted to do, and then she was out of ideas. She wanted a picture of the three of them. Sakura had turned fourteen on the wave mission; she was the last to do so. In everything that was going on, she had simply forgot about it. The boys hadn't said anything about their birthdays, as they weren't really important to them. It was very obvious that they had all grown considerably, and not just physically, and she wanted to record it. One way or another, Sakura wanted to remember this part of her life, and she assured the two boys that they would be glad later on that they did get one.

It was almost two before they found a photographer that was willing to take their picture. For whatever reason, all the other places seemed to be closing the moment they walked in. the photographer in question was an old man who was not afraid to speak his mind, even though he knew exactly who Naruto was. Naruto respected him for this, even if it was kind of annoying, because the guy honestly could care less about his own social status. In his words, he was too old to deal with all that shit, it was too exhausting.

They ended up going outside so that they could use the forest as a background. The picture was actually very good, for team seven anyway. Naruto was in the middle, with his arms crossed, head slightly tilted back and to the side, with a smirk that was on the verge of being cocky Sasuke, who was standing to Naruto's right, had a harder look on his face, but still, there was a slight smirk playing on his face that didn't seem to damage the hard look that his face was set in. Sakura was standing on the other side of Naruto with one hand on her hip while smiling with a look of actually being happy.

After that, Sakura suggested they go and see movie, which was a strange experience, they ended up seeing two. An action movie and a horror film. Much to the dismay of the other people in the audience, Naruto and Sasuke actually thought the horror movie was a comedy.

Finally, it was starting to get dark, and late enough for them to go and eat dinner, or at least an early dinner. After a little debating, it was decided that they would not go to get just ramen like usual. Instead, they went to a restaurant for sushi. While neither Naruto nor Sasuke had ever had it, they liked the idea of eating raw meat.

The experience to say the least was, interesting. It was a fairly popular restaurant, and almost high class. Naruto and Sasuke got a lot of stairs, as well as Sakura. They either ignored them, or had fun with it and made people uncomfortable. They made no attempt to hide their conversations that involved subjects like anatomy, blades, and the effect of certain kinds of explosions and overall subjects that probably should not be brought up while eating. Many people had to leave, feeling ill. Sakura was just kind of surprised that she was not affected in the least, and actually was actively contributing to the conversations.

****

"Well that was," Sasuke said looking to Naruto for advice on how to describe the day. They were just about to split up.

"Fun?" Sakura offered. The two boys blinked for a second and then smiled. Actually smiled, even Sasuke did for a moment anyway.

"Ya, we should do this again sometime." Naruto said nodding his head. After that, they all went their separate ways agreeing to meet at the 'regular' time' tomorrow for training. Sakura went home to her own bed, and her parents who while understanding, were beginning to miss her.

Naruto decided that he was going to spend the night in his 'tree house' and headed in that direction. And for once, he just walked, he didn't know why, he just wanted to.

Sasuke just went home to ponder the day as well before he went to sleep.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The following weeks were while different, were spent much the same as with Kakashi. After some serious discussions, Naruto and Sasuke had decided that they 'missed' Kakashi and that training was definitely easier with him around. Sakura just rolled her eyes at this.

Other than that though, they helped each other with their training, and not just by sparing. They helped each other master the moves, and jutsus that Kakashi had left in scrolls. Also they had to rely on each other a lot when they were left to figure out the specifics of learning new chakra exercises like water walking, it was difficult.

After almost three days of focusing entirely on that, they mastered it. It was harder when they read that they were all to start training on the water unless the techniques required dry land. Obviously their teamwork improved a lot as well. They took Kakashi's advice combining their jutsus to make them more effective.

In one particularly nasty one, Sakura used an earth jutsu to turn the ground into quick sand that was very sticky, thus trapping anyone standing there for a moment at least. While they were there, Naruto did a powerful wind jutsu that just created a gust of wind. The gust got more powerful depending on how much chakra was used. Naruto, only using a regular amount of chakra, for him, created gale force wind. Sasuke then did his grand fireball technique. It was very, very effective. So much so that they almost started a forest fire the first time they used it. For whatever reason two ANBU happened to be passing by and helped put out the flames, they disappeared before they could be questioned though. They just dismissed it as blind luck.

Sasuke was still having some trouble with his lightning attacks, but both Naruto and Sakura came in handy to help out. One jutsu that he was having trouble with was simply creating a bolt jumping from his palm in a direction of his choice. The jutsu only created about six or seven thousand volts, even still it could give an advantage in battle. Naruto's clones provided the targets to keep the jutsu active as long as possible, and Sakura's earth walls provided the power element of it.

All Sakura did was create a wall and Sasuke tried to break through it. Even though lightning was very effective against earth, it was still hard to do. Eventually though he could cleanly use the jutsu to zap Sakura on the other side.

All in all, they were greatly benefiting from each other's help, in fact it was so much so, that Sasuke and Naruto both discovered new found abilities at the same time. It was during a spar where it had come down to a Tiajutsu spar, predictably Naruto was winning. However, just as Naruto was going in for the finishing blow, he seemed to slow down slightly, not only that but Sasuke could almost completely see what Naruto was going to do next. Sasuke held his own that mach, and eventually actually won. Sasuke had finally activated his sharingan.

It only had one coma in it for the moment, but it was still a great help. After some more sparing with Naruto when they were fresh, Sasuke started wining as much as he lost, at least when it was Tiajutsu. That was until Naruto figured out how to use the Kyubi's chakra without developing the strange cloak that covered him back in wave.

Kakashi had left Naruto instructions on how to start this process, though he had been very, very expressive that Naruto was to only try this when both Sasuke and Sakura was around, and when he was completely fresh. It was after Sasuke had activated his sharingan that they figured out what the trick was, cold fury plain and simple. The reason that Naruto never did it before was simply because he was enjoying the fight to much. While he and Sasuke had plenty of killing intent, Naruto just wasn't in the right state of mind. He had to have a purpose to kill his opponent.

Naruto meditated, though he was careful not to go too deep as to avoid going to see the Kyubi. Kakashi had left instructions for how to do this correctly. The purpose of this was to remember his exact feelings back in wave, eventually, he had it. It hit fast, and was very scary the first time. It wasn't just extreme killing intent that Naruto was radiating, it had the feel of demonic influence as well.

After the first time, it was agreed that Naruto now had to immediately focus on learning to call upon it whenever he wanted, not just when he meditated. It took a couple of days, but eventually he got it. It was actually fascinating. Crimson seemed to bleed into his eyes, his already fierce slitted pupils becoming even more menacing. His teeth all extended and sharpened even more, especially his two 'fangs', they were practically small tusks. His whisker like birth marks darkened even more, and extended all the way to his jaw line.

And then there was the chakra that he got, it was immense. They thought he had a lot before; it was now many times more than his regular reserves. While Naruto didn't go into the state fully, as they all agreed, much to the relief of the ANBU agents nearby, that Naruto would not attempt to intentionally draw enough to actually create his strange chakra cloak. Even still, the air around him shimmered as it actually started to burn.

When Naruto fought Sasuke like this, they were now more or less exactly where they were before. While Sasuke could see where and how Naruto was going to move long before he got there, it didn't help all that much when his body couldn't move fast enough to use it to any real advantage. As a result, now that Naruto was also much stronger, they were pretty much where they were before.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They were all eating lunch, just simple sandwiches that Sakura made them. They were going to take turns providing lunch, but Sakura opted to just bring it all the time instead of risking whatever it was that Naruto ate besides ramen. Sasuke didn't mind in the least.

"I see you all improved some." Kakashi suddenly said with a smile, he had been watching their training all day. They all looked to him with smiles, which kind of surprised Kakashi a little bit. Even Sasuke was openly smiling, while not unheard of, it didn't happen all that often either. As Kakashi would come to discover though, was that because of the time they were all spending together, he was opening up somewhat. Or at least, one could actually see emotion on his face sometimes. Kakashi just figured it was because none of them could care less what other people thought of them, and while Sasuke still had a look of indifference most of the time, he still openly expressed emotion when he talked to his teammates.

Over the next hour or so, they filled Kakashi in on everything that had happened, at least with their training. Kakashi was pleased; they were progressing even faster than he thought they would. He assured Sasuke that he would unlock the second coma in his sharingan soon; the second coma, while requiring mastery of the few abilities the first had, wasn't incredibly hard to unlock. It was the third one that was tricky. Even for Sasuke, it would be a while, but that was fine.

Kakashi explained that there was no definite way to know when he would unlock the third coma. Apparently every sharingan user achieved it at their own rate. Though he was sure that it would take a while, third coma came with some very powerful abilities, and even more potential to create his own techniques with it. The third coma of the sharingan would enable Sasuke to pursue and make his own jutsus and such, but that was why it took so long.

Kakashi was also very interested in Naruto starting to control the Kyubi's chakra; he was actually going about it the right way. Not only that, but because of the suffocating aura that he gave off when he called upon it, he had been purposely practicing in his teammates presence more than what was really needed. They couldn't afford to be distracted by it in the field, so they decided that it would be a good idea to get used to it. While they hadn't got it completely, they were close. Close enough to impress Kakashi, especially when he himself experienced what it felt like.

Kakashi told Naruto that they would hold off calling on the Kyubi's chakra enough to create the cloak thing for a while. It was dangerous, and a little unpredictable even with the way Naruto used it, or rather the cold fury he was in. Naruto didn't mind, it made sense to him. After all, just using the little that he was, it was almost intoxicating, addicting, made him want to use more and more. That was not good; he needed a far greater degree of control before he could seriously control it.

Sakura was improving as well, her earth jutsus were coming along, as well as her own research into medicine. It was actually a blessing in disguise that she wasn't allowed to read the more advanced texts on medical jutsus as the library. Because of this, she was forced to figure it out on her own. Because she was smart and 'gifted' in this area, she was actually coming up and discovering the jutsus on her own. She just put what she knew together, followed instinct and what made sense, and she was teaching herself. Because she was discovering all of this for herself, she had a far greater understanding than she ever would have had she learned the traditional way.

As far as her inner 'persona' though, that was a little different. He had decided to not tell them about it, thinking that this way would be better. And it was, but not anymore. Kakashi's plan had worked so far, it was obvious that it was manifesting, at least when she was fighting, or when her training frustrated her. While she was still 'Sakura', there was definitely a difference as well. The team's reaction to the news that Sakura almost had a form of psychosis was predictable. Naruto thought it was cool, and Sasuke was just fascinated at the various possibilities it presented.

At first Sakura was in shock, but then decided that she was definitely going to control this new found gift. She didn't need to talk to herself or anything; she just had to get angry, and then control and focus it. Just like Naruto, she needed to harness this power, and direct it at her enemy to devote every ounce of her being into destroying them.

The results were amazing, truly. While they were definitely impressive, it really wasn't all that effective yet, but even still. The difference in her performance was huge. One time when she landed a hit on Naruto, she launched him back about five meters before he went through an earth wall that she made earlier. Everyone just stopped and gapped at that. Naruto was physically the strongest of them by far. Kakashi knew that in a years' time he would be as strong as he was, which was just insane. But even Naruto could not do what Sakura had done.

After some investigating, they were stumped before they found and asked Kakashi about it. While Sakura did in fact hit that hard, she still didn't have the muscle mass that was required. Kakashi had just explained about Sakura's subconscious use of chakra control, it was very cool. She was very happy for a while after that. When Sasuke asked why, as both he and Naruto were curious about her behavior after wards. She told them that now she truly felt that she could really contribute to the team's combat abilities, and not just be decent support. They agreed with her, and thus this led to even more discussions between the two socially retarded boys about even more unusual feelings.

Kakashi was so impressed by all of them that he told them that he was going to nominate them for the Chunin exams in a few weeks, while it was still being put together, they could participate if they wanted to. While he told them that no matter how well they did they more than likely would not be promoted. This was because of several factors; one being their age, the village had had some bad experiences with promoting ninja too young. Other than that though, they would inevitably be discriminated against for being on Naruto's team. Sasuke, because he was acting at least somewhat friendly with Naruto would also be affected by this. None of them cared.

They understood and accepted that in order for them to make Chunin; they would have to provide such a performance that they would have no choice but to promote them. Adding to that, Naruto pointed out that being promoted wasn't all that important right now anyway. Their rank would not at all affect how strong they were, they would be no more powerful if they were Chunin right now than if they were Genin. The only thing that would be annoying was the missions they were able to take, but they could deal with it.

All in all, Kakashi said it would be a good idea for the experience alone. He told them about how dangerous the exams are, that it was a historical fact that people died in them. However, he thought that they were capable getting themselves through the most dangerous part of the exam, though he didn't tell them what it was. Adding to that, it would be a lot of fun, which sold both Naruto and Sasuke. With all of this in mind, they started training with the Chunin exams in mind. Even still, they were going to have to be as strong as possible before the exams started.

****

It was a sunny day out and all was well, sort of. Naruto was chasing Sakura, who was in turn trying to kill the Hokage's grandson and his friends. While the kid had asked for it, insulting her while mentioning her forehead, he figured he should at least stop Sakura from killing them, the beating he would let happen.

Konohamaru was well, a strange relationship. They had first met when Naruto had first been sworn in; Naruto had knocked out one of his teeth. The Hokage had just sighed after he was sure that Naruto would not continue beating his grandson. While he wouldn't ever admit it, he secretly wished that someone would have enough balls to strike him; his grandson was becoming far too arrogant than was healthy.

Konohamaru had followed Naruto, while the Hokage made sure to keep an eye on them through his crystal ball thing, as Konohamaru begged Naruto to accept him as his underling and train him. Naruto was going to blow him off at first, but then decided that it would be fun to put the kid through hell. Naruto was still hurt at the time, so he didn't really feel like doing it himself, but he had other ideas all the same.

For starters, he made Konohamaru build a chair with a kind of improvised umbrella so Naruto could relax while his clones put him through hell. Naruto sat and watched as Konohamaru crawled through ditches filled with the intestines in insides of various animals, laughed as he puked and, just drilled him into the ground. While Naruto never officially told the boy he was, Konohamaru and his whole team called him boss anyway.

Suddenly, Naruto sped up from his lazy pace; he could sense something was wrong. Just as he got there he saw the kid held up by his collar by a slightly older fag with makeup and wrapped up cocoon on his back. A look to his right and he saw Sakura was cut off by a blond bimbo with a giant fan. The fag was going to hit Konohamaru, he was a problem, and the best way around a problem is to solve it.

Kankuro was just about to hit the kid before someone Naruto locked elbows with him, and simply tossed him roughly to the side. It was done with such force that Kankuro was unable to avoid falling on his face. He heard his sister laugh as he pushed himself on his feet with a bloody nose. He was pissed; however, he was stopped short when he made eye contact with the kid that threw him. Something was very wrong with his eyes.

It wasn't even that his pupils were slitted; such a sight was not unheard of. No, there was something deeper, something sinister, something much worse. It was only a moment later when he took the blond heads face in full that he realized where he had seen such eyes before. The boys face was almost smiling, but still in control. It was the look of someone who was holding themselves back, but very much wanted to tear someone apart. He had seen it on his brother's face many times.

Kankuro scowled. Even if the kid had the mentality of his brother, it didn't mean that he was anywhere near as strong as him. In fact, the kid was still a Genin. He then glanced at the pink haired girl wearing the same armor as the blond kid, indicating that they were probably on the same team. He saw her with a smirk, even though it was small, it was probably a subconscious thing as well, Sakura likely wasn't aware that she had a slight smirk on her face. All of this only pissed off Kankuro even more; she had seen his look of fear, his look of terror, as short as it had been there.

Kankuro started to unwrap the cocoon shaped object on his back; he was going to teach these punks a lesson in manners.

"Kankuro stop it, you know we're not supposed to fight right now." Temari said in a half concerned, and half bored tone. She saw the look her brother had given the blond kid, but she didn't know the reason yet. With an annoyed expression Kankuro looked up at Temari.

"Don't worry, I'll make it fast, besides, its two on one," Kankuro said nodding in Sakura's direction. "It's not even a fair fight for them." Kankuro said smiling, finally getting cocky again. But that smile was wiped off his face as a rock busted his lip open. Kankuro's face, while not actually hurt, was still a mess. He was covered in blood. With a scowl he looked at the third kid who appeared with his teammates. The look on his face gave a message that couldn't have been more obvious. He was basically saying, 'two on one not good enough? Fine, how about three on one?' Sasuke was smirking as he saw the message get across to the bloody faced Suna nin.

Temari was just about to intervene; this was getting out of hand. She knew she shouldn't have let it go this far, they could be disqualified if they fought leaf shinobi prematurely, not only that, but they didn't have much time.

"Kankuro come on, we…" Temari stopped with a look of horror on her face as she felt the sudden appearance of her little brother. He wasn't even trying to radiate killing intent, wasn't even trying to show his disgust, but the aura he always gave off was enough to cause cold sweat to appear.

All eyes were now on the red head whose eyes were closed, they didn't have to wait long. Kankuro was just about to say something but was cut off.

"You are an embarrassment Kankuro, can you not follow even simple orders?" the red head said in a soft, yet audible tone finally opening his eyes. Kankuro's eyes opened wide.

"You don't understand Gaara, they started it!" Kankuro said in a pleading tone. He was just about to continue, but was cut off again.

Garra sand shushunied in front of them. "Shut up. I don't care, if you're not capable of following simple orders, then ill feed you to my sand." The one identified as Gaara said getting a slightly manacle twinkle in his eyes. Kankuro stepped back, and took another step, but was shoved forward by Naruto.

Naruto was very interested in the new arrival. He could feel the Kyubi stirring inside him, though he didn't know what it meant, and only further excited him for some reason. He made eye contact with the red head, and everything stopped. Naruto's head slightly cocked to the side, Gaara's just kind of moved forward somewhat. Then at the same time, they both smiled.

Temari was making no effort to hide her terror. She had never seen that look on Gaara's face. It was his 'feed you to my sand' look, but at the same time he was in control. For some reason, this was worse than when he was totally unstable. He was also giving off his unique killing intent; it was rare to feel it. It was so weird. It was like killing intent laced with something even worse.

Then to make matters worse, the other kid was giving it off just as strong, if not stronger, and it seemed to be different in a bad way. They weren't even aware they were doing it. He also had this smile that she was sure would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life. Not only this, but it was obvious that whoever he was, he was just as bad as her brother, and probably just as strong, and her other brother had just insulted him.

Gaara was the first to speak. "Would you care to go for a stroll?" said with a smile in an obviously fake sweat voice. Naruto responded with a similar tone.

"Only if you promise to be a gentlemen." Naruto said lightly laughing at all of it; this was just perfect for him. They were about to continue when Sakura stepped in. If Temari and Kankuro hadn't been so scared themselves, they would have noticed that neither Sasuke nor Sakura were affected by the atmosphere in the least. They had been in much worse.

"Stop this now Naruto." Sakura said in a lazy voice. "I don't know what they're doing here, but killing them right now would get us in trouble, at least right now anyway. I'm sure there will be another chance anyway. Besides, do you remember what I told you and Sasuke about murdering people?" Sakura said gesturing to the other sand Nin, not to Gaara though, he didn't count.

Naruto laughed, finally breaking eye contact. "Ya, it's illegal and rude." Sakura again, for whatever reason she found the situation funny as well.

After eye contact was broken, it was like a spell was broken on Gaara. He just shrugged and walked away. His siblings following obediently not even needing to be told to follow him, but Naruto stopped them for one last little scare.

"Hey! You other two!" Naruto yelled out, making sure to make eye contact with both Kankuro and Temari. Naruto then pointed to Konohamaru and his friends. "They are with me, they're kids, they can't fight back yet, they're still innocent. Touch them and ill skin you alive, and before you die, you'll watch me wear them." Naruto said with a smile, they both shuddered as they nodded. Gaara smiled.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Thanks boss, you really saved our asses back there! You're awesome!" Konohamaru said with enthusiasm. Like Naruto's teammates and Hinata, he was slowly building up a tolerance to Naruto's personality, not to mention that he respected him anyway.

"No problem, just make sure that you don't do something stupid like that again, if that had happened when we weren't around, best case scenario you three would be in the hospital." Naruto said looking at all of them with an amused expression. The three of them soon left after Naruto gave them some advice on a few fighting moves, excited to try them out.

"Anyway, what was with him, he was a lot like you." Sakura started, thinking cap back on. "Do you think he's like you and Zabuza?" after a moment of thought, Sasuke nodded, it just felt so similar.

"I thought Kakashi said that your kind was supposed to be rare?" Sasuke said to Naruto in an inquisitive tone, noting the same puzzled expression on Naruto's face. Apparently he was thinking something along the same lines.

"now that I think back on it, I think we both 'felt' each other when we made eye contact." Naruto said thinking back. Sakura then spoke up.

"Ya, it was just like when you and Zabuza met each other. It was almost the same thing. I think that it's just like with everyone else though, while you do have mostly the same feel, you do have your own personal 'signature' as well." Sakura said nodding. It did make sense, though they would have to consult with Kakashi to be sure as he was the expert in these matters.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After that they all went for ramen, and also had a surprise addition of Iruka joining them. Iruka was interested as well as disturbed to hear all about the mysterious Suna Nin called Gaara. He promised he would look into it for them. After the lunch, they said their good byes and left. At least Iruka did, there was still some daylight to burn, and that meant more training.

As they got to the training grounds, they each put on blind folds that Kakashi had put Genjutsu on, sealing off their sight completely. It was a useful training exorcize, it was particularly useful when multiple senses were canceled at once, but for now this was fine. Kakashi knew that they were going to need the skill, however little they may learn in a short time, to not rely on their eyes. Especially in the second part of the exam.

Never the less, things were interesting for the rest of the day.

_**Hmm, for some reason the whole intro with Gaara didn't seem as dramatic and cool as I thought It would be, oh well. Next chapter, Chunin exams and all the bloody glory that goes with it.**_


	23. Chapter 23

_**I didn't really explain them very well, so if anyone is curious to know what Naruto's Ulak blades actually look like, if you don't already know, here is a link to a picture of them. You may have to copy and paste it.**_

.com/images/products/detail/Riddick_Sabre_Claws_

**Renegade Ch.23**

"Damn it, what's taking her so long?" Sasuke growled while sitting at his table. Both he and Naruto were wearing something other than their armor for the first time. While it was only semi formal clothing, it was a huge difference.

They only had two days before the exams started, and it was decided that they wouldn't do any real training for the next two days. Right now, both he and Naruto were waiting on Sakura so they all could go to a movie. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing.

Naruto, watching some mindless sitcom saw a commercial for a zombie horror movie. Seeing as the commercial looked hilarious, and that the last time they had done it he had fun, he went over to Sasuke's house to see if he wanted to go. Not having anything else to do, he agreed.

They found Sakura at the library, and she instantly abandoned her books to do go with them. However, she did want them to wear something else. When asked why, she honestly didn't know. She told them that, and that she was tired of wearing the armor all the time. Seeing as that was pretty much the only clothes Naruto had, they had to go and get him some new clothes.

It was an interesting experience to say the least. When Sakura picked a long sleeved colored shirt that she thought would suit him, she told him to try it on. Naruto and Sasuke were confused by this. They could tell that it fit, so why try it on? Sakura explained that regular clothes had to 'suit' the owner or else they didn't look good. While Naruto didn't care, he just took her word for it. It was a simple black shirt that while was a little loose, looked good on him.

Sasuke, seeing the difference in Naruto's appearance, started to get the whole point of paying attention to the clothes you put on. Not wanting to be shown up, he too got some clothes. In the end, they more or less ended up wearing the same thing. Sakura on the other hand was an entirely different mater.

While Sakura already had cloths, the two boys had no idea that fixing your hair was such a big deal. Or that it took so long. Luckily for them, Sakura no longer cared enough to put on makeup. When they asked her again why she was putting in so much effort into all of this, she told them that she wanted to look good for herself.

While this did not make complete sense to the boys, they sort of got it. Now though, Sakura had been in Sasuke's bathroom for the better part of a half hour.

Sasuke was getting madder by the second. If they didn't make it to this movie on time, then the whole day was for nothing.

"Damn it Sakura, the movie is going to start in five min…""I KNOW WHAT ITS GONNA DO!" Sakura screamed, interrupting him from upstairs. A moment later she came down stairs scowling, she wasn't wearing a kimono, she wore pants and a shirt, but they were definitely formal somewhat.

The horror movie, or rather the comedy, was just ok. Still, it was pretty good and they had a good time. Afterwards though, Sakura kicked herself mentally. 'Oh well, I'll remember next time.' She thought with a sigh.

"Hey Naruto." Sakura said as they were eating at Ichiraku.

"Ya?" Naruto said with a mouth full of ramen.

"Why don't you invite Hinata the next time we do this? Or for that matter, just invite her to hang out with us more often?" Sakura said as innocently as she could. It worked; both of them were still social retards. Naruto just blinked and looked over at Sasuke wordlessly asking his opinion.

Sasuke didn't have a problem with it. Hinata was probably the only other person besides Naruto and Sakura that he would be ok 'hanging out' with. The whole spending time together without the intension of training was something new to the boys. Kakashi had suggested it first. Of course, it was almost two weeks and dozens of stupid conversations between the two boys before they actually agreed.

As it turned out, it was actually ok with them; it was almost natural by now. Because they had no reason to hide anything from each other, they understood each other completely. Or at least as well as Naruto and Sasuke could, but that was fine. They probably could have moved in with Sasuke in his big house and it wouldn't faze them at all. Of course, Kakashi didn't bring that up; after all, eventually they would need their own lives. Besides, that was a little too much. Perhaps it wouldn't have been if all three of them had been outcasts, and they were all suffering from loneliness. But as it was, they didn't quite need that much comfort.

Hopefully, Naruto and Sasuke would one day get to the point when they could have their own social lives, but that was in the distant future.

After they finished eating, they simply said goodbye and went their separate ways. There was only one more day before the exam began, and they had to focus.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When the three of them finally reported at the desk for the Chunin exams, things were in a state of controlled chaos. There were so many teams from so many different countries that it was dizzying. When they asked one of the Chunin at the desk, he told them that seventy teams had shown up this year. Sakura told them that that meant that there was exactly two hundred ten Genin here to take the exams.

Sasuke and Naruto spent most of the time trying to figure out how many they would be able to kill before all of this was over.

"Would you two cut it out already? You're drawing unnecessary attention to us." Sakura hissed at her teammates. It was true, while there were a number of halls for all of the Genin to wait, there were still a lot of people here.

Adding the fact that Naruto and Sasuke were making no attempt to hide the nature of their conversation, even picking out and pointing out teams that they would like to fight, and in Naruto's case kill, and they were quickly making enemies with just about everyone, even other leaf Genin teams.

"Shut up Sakura, it's not like we're not all going to be killing each other soon enough anyway." Naruto said just barely glancing at her.

"I know that, but do you have to make us targets? Everyone here is going to be gunning for us now you fucking idiot." Sakura hissed out, being much louder than she had meant to.

There were a few leaf teams in the hall they were in, and they were all in a state of shock. With the exception of Hinata, no one had heard, or seen any of the members of team seven. Even if the other teams were busy training, they were still friends and did hang out once in a while.

However, team seven had apparently dropped off the face of the earth. Ino herself was in shock. While she occasionally thought about Sakura, mainly because it had been months since she had heard from either her, or had seen her Sasuke Kun, she now remembered Naruto very well.

Ino's father had instilled in her from the first time Ino had told him about Naruto, that under no circumstances was she to ever try to enter his mind. Period. He never explained why, but he made it very clear that she would die if she did. After a few weeks being exposed to the boy, she took her father's word for it.

Not only her, but her teammates, along with every other leaf Genin team participating were in a state of shock, even the ones that weren't from their graduating year and were either retaking the exam, or had just waited longer to take it. The nine Genin, and the three from the year before were not the only leaf Genin participating after all, but everyone knew about Naruto, and more importantly, his reputation.

Not only had Sakura cursed, but she had openly insulted Naruto. If she had done that back in the academy, Naruto would be trying to tear her head off right now, literally. Their shock though only grew however.

"Oh suck my dick Sakura!" Naruto yelled out, unaware and uncaring that that statement made a lot of people gasp, and blush.

"No thanks, besides, isn't that the whole reason why you learned the shadow clone jutsu in the first place?" Sakura asked innocently. Naruto got angry, and Sasuke openly laughed, hard.

This only further shocked everyone, for one, Sakura again apparently had a death wish. Not only that, but Sasuke was actually laughing, and laughing hard. It was as if it was a sign of the apocalypse. Every leaf shinobi, including the protractors, jaws' were hanging open. This did not go unnoticed by all of the other shinobi in the room from other villages. While they didn't know what was going on, they still were fairly entertained, and for some reason, unnerved by the fear that could be seen on some of the leaf shinobi's faces. Some of the Genin like Ino were openly terrified.

Before things could get too out of hand, a scared man yelled at them all to shut up and follow him. It was a good thing too, if the argument had gone on for a few minutes, the two teammates probably would have drawn steel on each other.

As it was, after it was broken up, the conversation was all but forgotten.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The test was confusing, and Naruto did not get the point of it. All he knew was that he needed to figure out to get all the answers in one go. It was probably the best way to go about it. Sasuke used his sharingan to copy Sakura, as she was able to actually answer all of the questions, and Naruto watched to see who else was going to copy her as well.

Near the end of the test, Hinata hinted that he could cheat off her; he shook his head as he already had a plan. At first Hinata was a little hurt, thinking that Naruto didn't trust her enough or thought that she was too incompetent to get valid answers from. All of these fears were quickly dismissed when Naruto put his plan into action.

Naruto waited till he was sure that the other Genin was done copying Sakura's answers before acting. He had no idea who he was; he didn't even recognize the symbol in his forehead protector. None of that mattered though.

After the boy was done, and flipped his test over with a smug look on his face, Naruto acted. Naruto simply stood up and walked over to him. Most of the room was watching him, unfortunately for the boy; he didn't notice Naruto until the last second. Naruto grabbed his hair, pulled his head back, and knife handed him in the throat. It knocked him out almost instantly, he was actually lucky that Naruto didn't crush his throat with that blow.

After that, Naruto took the boys test back to his desk, and erased his name, and wrote his instead. Now it was Naruto's turn to look smug. It was almost a minute before the other Genin and the protectors got over the shock at Naruto's action. Even Ibiki was stunned; no one had ever done something like that in one of his tests before. But he had to admit, it was brilliant in a way. The most they could dock him was two or maybe four points for erasing his name, but that was it.

After a few minutes, when everyone had gotten over their shock, they continued with the test. A few teams were disqualified, and over all maybe a quarter of all students in that 'class' were dismissed. Because there were so many Genin, they had been called in groups to the classroom.

Finally, the tenth question was revealed. Naruto honestly didn't know how to respond to it. He just looked at his teammates, and made his decision. Like Sasuke said earlier. It didn't matter what their rank was, they would still be powerful. And he seriously doubted that the village would waste a powerful shinobi on C rank missions.

After all of it, they found out that they had indeed passed. Naruto didn't try to show that he was happy. Even though he knew he would deal with it if it came down that he would remain a Genin, he was still happy to have a chance to become a Chunin.

After the scarred man who had since identified himself as Ibiki, they were told to report to the forest of death. Naruto smirked at this; it was good news if that place had anything to do with the next part of the exam.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **

They still had a little while before they were supposed to be at the entrance to the forest, so they decided to just walk there. Both Naruto and Sasuke wanted to talk about the test, the meaning behind it, and the Ibiki guy.

"Wait, so the whole point of that last test was to make sure that, if we came together we leave together?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

"Ya I think that's it. But how did any of these people make it this far if they weren't already willing to die for their team?" answered Sasuke with a confused expression.

"Maybe it's just because not all Jonin instructors are as good as Kakashi sensei." Sakura offered. They accepted that and continued on arriving at the entrance with the dozens of other teams.

Roughly a quarter of the teams had been disqualified so far, that meant that there were only around one hundred-fifty left. While Naruto was a little disappointed, Sasuke reminded him that they weren't really going to be able to kill that many of them. If the forest was as big as Naruto had told them, then they would still have a hard time finding anyone.

Even still, both of the boys were excited. Even Sakura was feeling a bit of a rush looking into the depths of the forest. Judging by what Naruto's stories were like, this was going to be the first true test of her skills since the wave mission. But she was a lot stronger now, and wanted to prove it. She actually told them about that, they seemed to understand but wanted to make sure she wasn't going to do anything stupid. She already knew about that and assured them that it wouldn't happen.

Before anything else happened, they found a somewhat isolated spot where they could talk. Naruto then briefed them on what not to do when they went in there. He wasn't able to tell them everything that had learned about how to survive, but he was able to tell them what the biggest 'no no's' were. He figured that it could wait till later to fill them in on the rest. As it was, they were interrupted by a somewhat skanky dressed woman.

She went on to explain the first parts of the test, including the two scrolls and such. Before she could move on to the wavers, Naruto more or less interrupted her.

"Hey Sakura, its strange isn't it?" Naruto asked being somewhat sly. Before she could ask what he meant, he finished. As he was gesturing to the way woman was dressed he said. "It's like looking into the future." It only took a moment to get what he was implying at. She blushed, Sasuke snickered, and Naruto grinned triumphantly, happy to finally get the upper hand in an exchange between them.

Suddenly, a cut that was almost a gash appeared on Naruto's left cheek. "Tell me little Genin, what exactly was it that you were implying there?" Anko said in a sickeningly sweet voice as she both held a kunai to his throat, and licked the blood off of his cheek.

Naruto froze; none of them had sensed her at all. Then Naruto looked at her, and then appeared to be checking her out. "I was implying that my teammate was going to become a whore, while you are just sexy." Naruto said with a sly smile as he continued to undress her with his eyes.

Anko didn't even flinch. Again she licked the blood off of his cheek, and told him in a normal voice, therefore ensuring that everyone heard her as everyone was listening in.

"You're looking to be quiet a catch too, if you survive this, look me up in a year or two. I'll show you how to have a really good time." She said with a smirk.

Naruto actually got a little bit of a nose bleed after she left. Sasuke smirked, Sakura had a slightly worried, yet amused look, and many of the other Genin that heard had a kind of creeped outlook on their faces.

"Ok, now that my future sex life has been solved, let's move on!" Anko yelled, this time, Naruto did blush. Hinata was also blushing, though she was mostly just angry now, and worried.

"Now, if you want to continue, you have to sign these wavers stating that we are not responsible for any dismemberment, ailment, or your death. Let me remind you that at this village, only ten combatants' maximum can make it to the next round.

"Not only that, but the second phase of the exam at this village has an average fatality rate of thirty-five percent. That means that at minimum, forty-five of you kids will die." Anko seemed pleased at the resulting shocked faces being worn by most of the Genin.

"How am I so sure of this? That is because it's a historical fact!" Anko said with a laugh. Suddenly there were a lot of poofs, and wavers were in front of everybody. "You must decide, and sign these right now, you have one minute."

The three of them signed them immediately without hesitation. Surprisingly, only a few teams ended up leaving. After exactly one minute, all of the forms disappeared in poofs of smoke.

"Ok, now that that is over with, I can now explain the rest of the rules." Without bothering to acknowledge the wary looks she was getting, she continued. "The process for getting the two scrolls still applies; however, you must also get to a tower somewhere in the forest within seven days. Not only that, but no one is allowed in the tower until the fifth day. In other words, you will all be stuck in there for at least the next five days."

Suddenly a loud screech was heard that sounded somewhat like a baby wailing and knives on a plate. Utter silence followed, the stench of fear in the air could almost be tasted by Naruto. Naruto then laughed out loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Your all are so dead you don't even know it!" Naruto said and then laughed again. No one challenged him. Sakura, Sasuke, and surprisingly Hinata all smirked.

****

Anko, for the first time in a while, felt unnerved. The reason for her discomfort was because of Naruto Uzumaki. It wasn't because of his statements; it was because of the way he looked at her. She dressed the way she did to get looks like that, however, that was the first time since she last saw her old sensei that she felt that…exposed.

With that thought she shuddered. The only reason she felt this way was because she knew exactly what he was. She had read Naruto's complete dossier. That also included every secret report from both Kakashi, and the Hokage.

Anko and Kakashi had been on and off lovers for years, though it had never gone farther than that. The reason for this being that both of them had been in ANBU for most of the time. Neither could afford to get attached to anything. She now knew that Naruto was actually the main reason that Kakashi had gotten out to begin with, he had begun to love the gaki.

Earlier that week, they had, by a complete coincidence ran into each other at a bar. Needless to say, things had quickly gotten rather intimate in a matter of speaking. However, something was very different that night.

For the first time in her life, Anko had actually made love instead of just fucking. It didn't bother her till the next morning when she realized what had actually happened. Being honest, it scared her, a lot. That was a very unfamiliar emotion to her, and it was actually all Kakashi's fault.

Apparently Kakashi knew that too, as he wasn't there when she woke up. Instead, his team's complete dossier was on her kitchen table. Anko could not figure out if this was an apology of some sort, or something else. Needless to say, she read it all anyway.

Anko was both impressed, and disturbed. Naruto impressed her with his natural talent, his refusal to give up, his determination to find happiness, and his utter disregard for what other people thought of him. However, what bothered her the most was his charisma.

Only the Hokage's and the Sanin had been able to inspire people the way he did. Granted most people feared Naruto for good reason, however, every single person that actually got close to him ended up changing in some way for the better.

What bothered her most was the potential of such a gift. If Naruto ever became aware of this talent, he could use it the way her former mentor did. If Naruto became half as powerful as both Kakashi and the third thought he could be, that was a very dangerous combination.

'Perhaps Kakashi gave me this information because he trusted me enough to do what had to be done if necessary. Because if I'm right, he would not be able to, the third could, he had learned his lesson, but not Kakashi.' Anko was not sure how she felt about this.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Team seven was using Naruto's invented technique to move through the forest with at a surprisingly slow pace. Naruto assured them that that was the safest and best way to move. If they went too fast, it would be very easy to run into an ambush by another team, or worse, one of the many permanent residents that lived in the forest. With their hoods up and cloaks activated, they were ghosts in the darkness.

They had only been in the forest for an hour or two, and they still hadn't run into anybody. At first, Sasuke and Sakura thought that the first order of business would be to make some sort of base of operations so that they could at least sleep safely. To the surprise of both of them, Naruto immediately shot that idea down.

He told them that for one, there was no such thing as safe in this forest, only safer. Having a base of operations would only serve to lower their guard, and therefore lead to their death. Not only that, but he told them that a fair share of creatures were intelligent enough to figure out that they always came back to the same place. They would set an ambush, and depending on the creature, that was almost the worst thing that could happen.

Besides, they were going to be moving around a lot anyway. Not only that, but he was sure that other teams would make their own little hideouts. They could easily get away with finding some of these, and either wait for the forest to kill the team, or do it themselves. There was a very good chance that they would come across a few of these hideouts and recover a couple scrolls that way.

The one creature that Naruto stressed about was one of; if not the most dangerous in the world were the giant spiders. They were intelligent, poisonous, and fast. He made sure to drive the point home that they were insanely lethal. As it turned out, they got to witness the spiders in action.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto signaled his teammates to stop; they had finally come across another team. They seemed to be shinobi from Iwa. That was good news; Naruto doubted they knew anything about fighting in a real forest. Sasuke and Sakura were slightly behind Naruto, but spread out. They were both at almost exactly seven meters to either side of him.

They had already gone over their plan for when they came across another team, they were ready. Naruto silently made clones, and they immediately spread out, summoning their bows. While Naruto doubted the arrows would kill all of them, he was relatively certain he could kill at least one of them. He was probably going to wound the other two as well.

As both Sasuke and Sakura were about to move out, Naruto stopped them. Naruto was deathly pale. They were surrounded by a 'pack' of spiders. One of his clones spotted one, and dispelled. After a moment, two more of his clones dispelled thus revealing the locations of the other spiders. Thankfully, the spiders were not trying to ambush them; they were surrounding the other shinobi.

Naruto made the proper hand signs and told his teammates what he had figured out. Naruto didn't even need to see their faces to see the obvious fear on them. Thankfully, they kept enough composure to mask that fear and not move at all.

'I'm going to have to thank Sakura again for forcing us to learn all those hand signals.' Naruto thought to himself. When Sakura had first proposed it, both he and Sasuke were hesitant. Not because they couldn't see the obvious benefit, but because they wanted to focus on other things in their training. Sakura was relentless though and eventually convinced them to learn. Naruto was sure that Sakura had probably saved their lives. If they had attacked, they would be completely taken by surprise when the spiders attacked, they all would have been dead in seconds.

As it was, they were still crouching completely still. They were all on all fours using chakra to stick to trees at various angles. Sasuke was actually upside down at the moment. Eventually the enemy Genin team decided to end their break and move on, that was when the spiders struck.

One of them got up and walked right out into the open to get ready to leave, his two teammates getting up as well. Before the one in the open could say anything, he was already screwed.

Web shot out and pinned him to the tree so fast that even Naruto and Sasuke had trouble following it. The boy was so shocked that he didn't start screaming for a full three seconds, after he did, the other two finally acted.

"Hold on! Hold on!" the female member of the group yelled as she ran for her trapped teammate, stupidly ignoring the source of the webbing, assuming that her other teammate would cover her. Her other teammate trailing right behind, thinking he was covering her. Before she got to him though, a spider as big as she was jumped and more or less tackled and pinned her into another tree, fangs piercing her throat and face. She let loose a bloodcurdling scream that turned into a sort of gurgle as the inside of her throat and head melted due to the potent venom.

The last remaining boy jumped backwards throwing a kunai at the spider that was more or less eating his teammate. The kunai was poorly aimed; he didn't have enough time to pull another one out.

None of them saw it, but the spiders had put up a few webs, and he jumped right back into one of them. He was like a fly in the web, thrashing wildly around. Almost immediately another spider charged down the web at him. He let loose a bloodcurdling scream that was similar to his former teammate as he saw it charge him.

After that, he was just like any other prey that a spider caught. All three of the bodies were wrapped up, and taken away after a few minutes.

The three of them didn't move for a few more minutes, Sasuke and Sakura waiting for Naruto's decision. Naruto then made about a dozen clones that instantly spread out and disappeared. Naruto then gave the signal for them to move forward with caution.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

While the three of them were silently going through the little that was left behind by the spiders, as the ninja had already packed most of their gear when the attack happened. Suddenly, one of Naruto's clones dispelled, while another one made another clone to replace it.

"We're good, for the moment we're alone." Naruto said with obvious relief, which was also evident in his teammates.

"The scroll is gone, we should move on." Sasuke said after one final look around. The other two nodded in agreement, but Sakura wasn't quite ready yet.

"Just a moment guys, I need a moment to get my shit together. Those spiders really shook me up. Don't worry, I only need a moment, after this it won't be a problem again." Sakura promised while taking some deep breaths.

After a moment of looking her over, the two boys nodded in understanding. Sasuke then actually walked up to her and reached up with one hand and grabbed and squeezed her left shoulder slightly. Sasuke only made eye contact for a moment, but the message was clear.

They were there for her, and they understood. They wouldn't abandon her. While Sakura knew this already, it was still comforting to have it conveyed like that. She knew Naruto felt that way as well, but Sasuke was the only one to do that. For whatever reason, Sakura's distress affected him more than he thought it would. Sasuke simply made a mental note to tell and ask Naruto about it after they were out of the forest, right now wasn't the time to worry about things that weren't all that important, at least not at that moment. There was no place for feelings on the battlefield, and there was no illusion that they were in battle.

****

_**I know there are a lot more people in the Chunin exams than in the canon. But think of it this way, the more people there are, the more opportunity for Naruto and the others to kill people! Anyway, all of the real death and such will come in the next chapter. I'm actually considering spending a whole chapter on the three of them just killing people and such in the forest, YAY! **_

_**Anyway, I'm going to give a little spoiler away, nothing big I promise.**_

_**I have received a few worried messages begging me to not give Naruto the curse mark. I'm just going to put it out in the open right now; Naruto will NOT receive the curse mark, not ever. As far as what will happen later, well, that you'll just have to wait for. **_


	24. Chapter 24

_**First order of business is to let everyone know that Anime Insaniac has agreed to Beta Renegade. Up until this point I have been relying upon myself out of just being stubborn. At this point, with so many people following my story, you all deserve more than my horrible grammar.**_

_Beta Comments: Spiderpig, spiderpig, does whatever a spiderpig does. Can he spin a spiderweb? No he can't, cause he's a pig. Yo ho I'm back to being a beta. To all who know of my work, which is very few, I will be reading, editing, rewording and rereading. Besides, this gives me more satisfaction, knowing that I get the manuscript. Anyone who wants me as a Beta just ask and you will receive, and this offer is only open to those with whom I actually read the stories of. Now I will also have a comments for each chapter if I can think of one. This is the initial and will probably only be in this chapter. If you want my final comments, it's at the end of the chapter._

_- Anime Insaniac_

XXXXXXXXXXX

Renegade Ch. 24

After the spider incident, the three of them decided that, for the moment, they should try to keep as far away from the spiders as possible. Naruto told them that while the spiders were everywhere in the forest, there were certain areas where they seemed to like more and were more common. With this in mind, they went ahead and just went in a direction that Naruto said was the right way. Even though it was in a somewhat different direction than where the tower was supposed to be, and would likely not have a lot of other teams in them, it was still their best option. They all agreed that while they wanted to fight and collect as many scrolls as possible, it was not worth it to risk being ambushed by those spiders. Even if they didn't end up getting a scroll at all, it was still too much of a risk. None of them had a problem with that; they all agreed that while it would suck to take the exam again due to actually failing it, the mutual thought of 'Fuck That!' was shared.

As Sasuke voiced out while they were discussing it, 'Naruto's right, screw fucking with those spiders. Besides, I doubt any of us are going to become chuunin anyway.' So with that said, they followed Naruto's lead.

As luck would have it, they did end up running into one other team before they stopped looking for the night. They had agreed that it was simply too dangerous to keep looking at night. Naruto could have kept going as he could see in the dark, but they couldn't.

Just as they were about to call it a day and make camp, they ran into a team of genin from Kiri. Zabuza had informed them about what the general attitude was there, so they were still cautious and simply observed them for a while.

Even as fearsome of a reputation that Kiri nins had, it was obvious that these genin were still scared. They had never been in any situation that could even compare to what they were in right now. With that in mind, the Kiri team had decided to make camp early and wait the night out, not unlike what they were going to do. Unfortunately, they were making some very big mistakes. For one, they were camping on the forest floor, a very stupid thing to do. While it was true that the spiders probably wouldn't come down that far to hunt, usually, there were other beasts in the forest.

An example being the thing that had made the weird screeching sound before they started. Naruto knew exactly what that was, after seeing it once, he would never forget it. The creature in question resembled a combination between a giant praying mantis, and a scorpion. While it wasn't particularly intelligent, or even all that fast, its stealth was top notch. Naruto knew that if one happened across this group, it could tear at least two of them apart before the third even knew that something was wrong.

All of this in mind, the three of them withdrew with Naruto leaving some clones to watch them. They needed to discuss the pros and cons of attacking right now. As Naruto had told them, attacking at night was actually a huge risk as the two of them wouldn't be able to see in the dark. The sounds of battle would draw predators from miles around. Even if the noise wasn't all that loud, the scent of blood would do an even better job.

If they attacked now, they would have to move on; staying anywhere close wasn't even an option. The forest itself wasn't their only worries though; they had to also assume that this could be some form of a trap. While it was very unlikely that this was some form of a genjutsu as Sasuke's sharingan would have seen right through it. That is unless it was an advanced one which was definitely possible. Or, they could be some sort of clones that were placed there to spring a trap. The only reason they were being so paranoid was that it meant a couple of things if it wasn't a trap.

One: the team was obviously not ready for the chuunin exams as they were being stupid being out in the open.

Two: they were on the forest floor, which should be common sense to not do.

After scouting for almost a half hour, it was decided that the enemy team was just stupid. They found no traps, no illusions, nothing. They obviously weren't clones, only shadow clones would have been able to last this long, and as far as they knew, that was a forbidden and sealed technique. Sasuke could tell that no chakra was being drained, so unless it was some very high level ninjutsu clone that consumed chakra directly from the source, they were real. Besides, no genin, Naruto excluded, should have enough chakra to keep up any form of a solid clone for that long.

After all of this was discussed, they still had to come up with a plan. They couldn't let this opportunity pass by; this was an easy scroll, and easy kills. Even if the scroll wasn't the one they needed, it would still eliminate some competition. That said, they decided that it would be best to hold off ambushing them until morning.

According to Naruto's experience, it the safest during dawn and twilight. If they killed them in the morning, they would have a head start to get away from whatever the corpses attracted. Also, this was somewhat common knowledge. If they were as stupid as they thought they were, they would be off guard in the morning and open to attack.

With that decided they went ahead and started to plan their attack.

XXXXXXXXX

It was early morning and the Kiri team was just waking up fully. Though they had been taking shifts all night, it would have been ridiculously easy to kill them. It was actually nothing short of a miracle that the forest hadn't killed them already. Not only were they camping on the ground, but they had actually lit a fire. Even Sasuke and Sakura who had no experience in this environment had enough common sense to know that that was a very stupid thing to do. Even if there were no dangerous animals around, it was still a beacon to attract attention from other shinobi. Naruto had to keep clones posted most of the night so that they wouldn't be caught off guard if other shinobi did find the stupid Kiri team.

However, all three of them were suspicious of this as well. Everything wasn't always what it seemed, and an easy target was more likely a trap in disguise. Even still, all three of them had tried numerous times to see past or identify any genjutsu, or ninjutsu that could possibly set them up. Eventually they decided that if all three of them were still unable to identify it, then they should probably already be dead as only a jounin could do something like that.

The plan itself was simple, divide and conquer. While they still couldn't get a read on their true abilities, their actions thus far pretty much guaranteed that they were genin probably only a month out of an academy at best. So, they observed them and tried to figure out what their general style was or rather what kind of fighters they were.

It was decided that Sakura would take a heavy set boy who looked bigger than even Chouji. He had a giant axe with him so it was abundantly clear what kind of fighter he was. Sakura decided that she could take him as he probably wouldn't be all that fast, and that she could use her strength to simply beat him to death. It was sound, and simple.

Sasuke decided to go with an average looking girl who was about their age. She had a katana, and that interested Sasuke. Even though Naruto's Ulaks were a challenge, there really wasn't anyone to test his kenjutsu in a straight fight. At least, Sasuke hoped that it could stay a straight fight, though he wouldn't hesitate to use jutsu if he had to. Sasuke was even going to try and _not_ activate his sharingan.

Naruto on the other hand was going to fight a guy that apparently only fought with his kunai as he appeared to have a lot of them on him. He was of average build with a typical ninja outfit and appeared to be the leader of the group. Naruto could only hope that he was a challenge. Naruto didn't have a particular strategy in mind, which was his style in and of itself anyway. However it was agreed that they should try to save as much chakra as possible in the forest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The three Kiri nins were just finishing up their breakfast and about to break camp when the leader yelled. "MOVE!"

Just after he yelled a giant fire ball came down on their position forcing them all in separate directions. After that Naruto's clones fired off arrows to guide them into the ambushes that had already been set up for them. It took a little bit of work as they weren't as stupid as they looked and wanted to stay together, but after a minute it was clear that they would die if they didn't split up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura waited calmly for the giant brute to come a little bit closer. Thankfully it seemed that he wasn't all that fast after all, that was good news. He wouldn't be all that much of a challenge if she could always hit as hard as she was sometimes able to, but she couldn't always do it. She was improving, but she hadn't mastered it yet.

As far as her alternate 'persona' went, she was making progress, but she had a long ways to go. At the moment, she was able to summon the strength that was at least a little stronger than Naruto was. While this was nowhere close to what she had demonstrated before on occasion, it was still a dangerous weapon. While she wouldn't have the ability to truly cause damage with a body shot, that didn't mean that striking at certain points couldn't be very lethal, and that was her plan at the moment.

The giant was currently taking a breather for a moment, Naruto's clones had been a little hard on him as he had seemed to be determined to regroup, but like the others he was forced to spit up. Sakura didn't want to give him the chance to recover completely. It may have seemed a little cheap, but this was mortal combat, not a sparring match.

Sakura took a deep breath herself and threw a kunai at him not bothering to see if it actually hit him. Instead she jumped up on to a tree, launched over to another tree and then launched off of that at the giant boy that vaguely resembled Chouji.

The boy used his axe to block the kunai and almost missed Sakura coming from behind because of it. As it was, he did sense her just in time to avoid catching a kunai with his skull. He ducked and swung his axe as he did. However, Sakura was too agile and had predicted and planned on this. She somersaulted in mid air and landed behind him. She waited a split second and dodged as he turned around and swung at her again.

Sakura jumped back a bit and feinted at jumping at him. He took the bait and tried to intercept her in the air. After he started moving, Sakura then ran in and got close. He had greater control of his axe than she had originally thought and he was able to use its momentum to turn the head of it back at her attempting to cut her legs off. Sakura jumped over it, and in doing so finally got in close enough to hit him. Sakura punched him right in his Adams apple; Sakura both heard and felt the satisfying crunch as his head jerked forward a bit.

After that, Sakura just stepped out of the way as he pitched forward, already dead. 'Well, that was easier than I thought it would be,' Sakura thought to herself with a frown. While she was confident that she would be able to kill him, she hadn't expected it to be that easy. In fact, she hadn't even finished him the way she had planned to; he had just left an opening that she had taken advantage of.

With a sigh Sakura collected her kunai that she threw and quickly inspected it. This was for several reasons, one of which being that they were in a live combat zone and supplies weren't unlimited. However, that was not the only, or even the most important reason. This was one of team sevens special kunai. The kunai themselves being normal, it was the handle wrappings that made them so special.

While you would never guess it by looking, or even examining the blades, the wrappings actually had explosive seals inked in them. It had been all Naruto's idea, not a surprise really. Naruto had been thinking about the Fourth when he suddenly had an idea that he asked the two of them about. This was during the month when Kakashi was away so they couldn't actually do all that much with it yet, but they could at least prepare and train for it.

It all relied on one of the most common, most simple, and apparently one of the most useful and dangerous techniques around. This technique was based off of the kawarimi. Naruto had come up with the idea when he had been sparring with Sasuke and he used the kawarimi to replace himself with a kunai. Afterwards he realized that it was similar to the Fourth's technique in a way, but that was where Naruto took off with the idea.

After Kakashi got back, they asked him about it. It had taken a little bit of work, but Kakashi had finally perfected the seal that would make the jutsu work. Most explosive seals were either set off by rigging some sort of trip wire, or by sparking them by channeling a small amount of chakra in them. These seals could not be triggered that way though. They were designed to be activated when used in a jutsu, the certain signature and molding of chakra being the necessary detonator for them. The jutsu was the kawarimi. Also because of this, the seal on the handle was able to detonate almost instantaneously, leaving next to no chance for a target or enemy to react.

With this in mind, they could throw them all over the place and they would seem to just be regular kunai discarded or thrown with bad aim. After they got in close, they could replace themselves with one of those kunai and BOOM. It was simple, effective, and brilliant.

All of them had practiced doing it, even Kakashi. But there were some draw backs to it. The main one being that it was hard to keep track of and know which kunai that should be used. Even if they had only used one, it was very hard to replace oneself with a kunai rather than something much bigger and much more common like a tree trunk. Because of this, it wasn't always reliable; it was easy to make the mistake of replacing oneself with a regular kunai rather than its explosive counterpart.

Naruto was easily the best, it made sense as it was his technique. It was still a little hard for him, but he had created his own training regimen for it. He had to memorize which kunai were which, and then replace himself in rapid succession. Naruto had a knack for it; he could get it right six times out of ten. And considering that there were only ten explosive kunai out of a hundred that they used to train, that was pretty damn good.

With all this in mind, Sakura heard a scream and took off in the direction that she knew her teammates were.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke was having fun. While the girl in question obviously didn't have any real chakra reserves or even a decent arsenal of jutsu, her swordsmanship for her age and rank was top notch. Though Sasuke had not yet activated his sharingan, he was having a hard time to just keep up with her.

Because she clearly spent most if not all of her time training with her sword, she had some abilities with it that he didn't have. One of which was that she could channel chakra into her blade. Sasuke was just happy that she either didn't have a wind affinity, or didn't know how to use it properly yet. Even still, it gave her sword a clear advantage over his. Her blade seemed to be both heavier, and sharper than what should be possible for just a normal blade.

Even with the apparent additional weight she didn't seem affected in the least by it. Because of this, Sasuke was not able to actually block any of her strikes. Instead he had to deflect them and kind of guide them away. Still, he was having a lot of fun.

If there was one thing that Sasuke was 'gifted' in, it was his sword play. Even without his sharingan, he was able to break down and analyze her style. After a few minutes, he figured out how to beat her.

Sasuke pushed her, or rather encouraged her to attack him with a diagonal slash by purposefully leaving openings. After a few exchanges, she saw the flaw in his technique, and tried to take advantage of it.

When Sasuke saw that she had taken the bait, he immediately acted. Instead of waiting for her to come to him, he attacked her sword. Just as it was getting to the top of its arch, before it could gain a lot of power, he struck it in a way that put her off balance. Taking advantage of the opening, Sasuke then acted.

Sasuke used the back and dull side of his blade to strike her elbow, blowing it out. She screamed as he swiftly maneuvered behind her and in one fluid motion opened up her entire back, cutting threw her spine in the process. Her scream turned into a strange screech before she fell silent. After a few seconds she let out a death rattle and was silent.

Sasuke just looked at her and smiled, that was every bit of fun that he had hoped it would be. She was good, almost better than him. Sasuke took a deep breath and cracked his neck. He then turned his attention behind him and saw Sakura come out into the open. After Sasuke looked at her with his sharingan, he let out a sigh of relief. Although he couldn't completely understand it, he felt very relieved that Sakura was alright. Sasuke just added it to his increasing list of things to talk to Naruto about.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto on the other hand was just having a little bit of trouble. While he wasn't able to take it easy on him, he didn't really have to take him all that seriously either. While his taijutsu and weapons skills were ok, he didn't have all that much as far as actual jutsu was concerned. He was an earth type, but he wasn't even on Sakura's level.

Naruto was right; he fought with two kunai in reverse grip. That at least was a little fun to deal with, but he was quickly becoming bored. He decided to end this.

He had just used an earth jutsu and while Naruto was momentarily out of his line of sight, he made a shadow clone. The shadow clone ran straight at him and while they were engaged in hand to hand, the real Naruto was able to easily sneak up behind him.

Naruto waited for him to try and stab down at his clone with his right hand. Naruto came up behind him and using his left hand and Ulak, put the blade in his armpit, having the tip and a few inches to spare come out of the top of his shoulder. Right as he did this, Naruto pulled him back and half spun him around; burying his other Ulak into his chest cavity, piercing his heart in the process. He was dead before he hit the ground. Naruto was disappointed to find that because his heart was no longer beating, he didn't bleed out all that much.

After a few minutes, Sasuke and Sakura came out to him and identified themselves using previously agreed challenges and responses. With that, they went through everything they had and searched the corpses. While they found the scroll, it was the same one they already had. Even still, they didn't stick around to figure out their next move, Naruto was sure that it would only be a few minutes before the creatures of the forest turned up to finish the job.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'_Shit!'_ Naruto thought to himself as he took cover behind a large tree branch. While they had been going carefully, making sure to not travel too fast, they had still been ambushed.

Even worse was that it had happened almost three minutes before and he still didn't know where the enemy was. Not only that but he didn't have a fix on Sasuke or Sakura's location. This could get very bad, very fast.

Taking a deep breath Naruto steadied himself and moved. Making sure to be as stealthy as possible, Naruto more or less glided in between the shadows around the tree.

There was an explosion about twenty meters to the left followed by the sounds of fighting. Judging by the lack of clanging that would come from steel on steel, he figured someone must be fighting Sakura.

Rather than rush in, Naruto trusted Sakura to handle herself for the moment. Instead, Naruto carefully scaled the tree in order to get a better view of everything. He still had to be careful, while he had probably lost whoever was targeting him, they would still be looking for him. Not only that, but if they were any good, and Naruto knew that they were as they had been able to get the drop on all three of them, they would be doing more or less the same thing he was.

Naruto knew from experience that when you were hunting something, you had to make sure you were always better and deadlier than your prey. Because if you weren't, and your prey either couldn't, or decided not to outrun you, that left one option. It meant that the hunter would become the hunted.

Whoever these guys were, they were good, so they had to know this as well. If they were smart, this person should be trying to get as high as possible to get an eagle eyes view of things, that or they were already there.

Naruto, knowing this, had to be very cautious. He would not be able to help either of his teammates if he either got himself killed, or just got himself held up again. If it were him, he would be in a position to both observe the other battle or battles, and continue to look out for his target.

Naruto was moving painfully slow for him. Only doing a quick jump every twenty seconds or so, always moving up. As he approached the top of the tree line, he found her. It was just as he thought. She was actually a few years older than him, probably in her mid teens. Her experience showed.

She was dressed light, like the scout that she was. _'Whoever these guys are, they did their homework.' _Naruto thought to himself, observing his opponent from above. Which was impressive in itself, there wasn't a whole lot above her with how high they were.

'_They knew that that the best way to fight me would be to get rid of me early. Hopefully before any of us knew it was coming.'_

With this came respect, but Naruto quickly pushed that aside as other thoughts came to mind. With a wicked smirk he silently drew his Ulak knives and was about to jump on top of her when he stopped himself.

'_Something's not right.'_ Naruto thought to himself with a frown. _'This is too easy.'_

While Naruto didn't know what, he knew for sure that something was not right. His instincts were almost never wrong, so he waited. While he waited he took a good look at the girl below him, and Naruto almost laughed to himself. It was a normal bunshin. With that in mind, he carefully looked around.

It was almost five painful minutes later that he found her. Naruto had to admit, it was hard not to interfere with Sakura's fight. Sakura was good now, but she wasn't as good as the guy she was fighting. He was an earth elemental too, and he was much better than her. Sakura was constantly on the defensive, only trying to attack a few times. Every time she went off the defensive, she got hurt, she couldn't even touch him. So with that, she apparently thought that the best strategy was simply to trust in her teammates, and wait him out.

The girl who Naruto was now hunting was in a tree blind maybe twenty meters away, silently watching the clone and waiting to spring the trap. Naruto didn't want to wait too long, so he tried to figure out how he was going to kill her. After a few moments, his special smile made its way onto his face.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As 'gifted' as Naruto was, he soon learned that the best results and such were found when he asked for help. Naruto wanted to do something new with his arrows, and with both Sasuke and Sakura's help, they had figured it out. Though they had had to go to Kakashi as well to help out. It was a very obvious idea to strap an explosive tag on an arrow, but that wasn't always the best way to handle a situation.

It had taken almost a full day of research in the library, but Sakura had finally found a substance called 'napalm' that suited Naruto's requirements. While it burned extremely hot, it was somewhat unstable, it was hard to ignite, and was not all that fun to cart around. There were better ways to get fires burning. So while the formula was well known, not a whole lot of people used it as it was considered obsolete. Naruto didn't think so though.

With Kakashi's help they had made some, and actually invented a way to seal it into special arrows. After their first successful test, and seeing the damage done, Kakashi made a silent promise to himself to get a certain pervert master to teach Naruto seals.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto carefully unsealed one of his special arrows, he didn't have that many. They were hard to make themselves, not to mention the caution that had to be shown when actually making the stuff itself.

Naruto knocked the arrow and took carful aim. When he was sure that the girl inside the blind wasn't looking in his immediate direction, Naruto carefully let the arrow go. It flew straight and true. It went right into the small opening where she was looking through. It was so fast that she either didn't notice, or didn't have enough time to react. Either way, the result was the same.

The arrow wasn't designed for an explosion, just ignition, and that's exactly what happened. The arrow basically turned the inside of the blind into a super heated match. Liquid fire poured out while strange wailing moans came out of it for a few moments before Naruto assumed she had been melted.

Thankfully, this gave Sakura the chance she had been waiting for. While the boy she had been fighting was momentarily distracted, she used it to her advantage. She made a simple clone, and then flipped up her hood and disappeared as well as she could.

It appeared that she was making a desperate last charge at her attacker while she was actually setting up a trap.

The boy dodged and laughed. "Is this really all you've got?" he said out loud in a mocking tone. "I have to admit, I'm very disappointed. But I guess it just goes to show that bitches really don't be…URK!" he was unable to finish as kunai was in his neck.

"Maybe it's the bastards like you that shouldn't be allowed to fight." Sakura whispered in his ear form behind him right before she ripped the kunai out, filling the air with a spraying pink mist and tearing out a good chunk of his neck as she did.

Naruto jumped down tree to tree as he got down to the clearing. He landed about ten feet away from Sakura. Sakura didn't need to see him to recognize him, once you got to know his signature '_aura'_; you would never have any problem knowing him unless he was actually trying to suppress it.

Before either of them could start talking though, another enemy jumped out and rushed them, slashing with a kunai all the while. The problem was, was that he was at least twenty feet away from them and running in almost the wrong direction.

Sakura and Naruto watched in confusion as he dodged a nonexistent slash and continued to fight an imaginary opponent. Just as Naruto was about to kill him, Sasuke made an appearance, strolling lazily up to him with his sharingan with two tomoes in each eye.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Final Beta Comments: Very nice in my opinion, you certainly know chemicals. You also, apparently know how to give a chauvinist what he deserves. I have a pair of Ulak knives sitting on my dresser, so I know what they look like. Believe it or not the designs are not that different from Asuma's trench knives, except that they can't be hidden in your sleeves like Asuma does. All I'm doing is rewording something and correcting problems. And that's it for me, Peace off._

_**Eh, don't know why it took so long to get that out. Reading it again it's not even that good. I could have done much better, that being said, I'm too lazy to re-write it, and I doubt any of you want to wait while I try to write another chapter filled with senseless gore rather than read actual plot. Anyway, Orochimaru in the next chapter, got some plans for him as well. I promise, the next one will be out much sooner.**_

_**One more thing though, I do want to clarify something. While some of my writing may sometimes seem incomplete, I rarely write something without some kind of purpose. So, while I encourage questions, feedback, and any other comments on my work, please refrain from accusing me of leaving obvious plot holes open and have a little faith in me, please?**_

_**Other than that, I now know that links can no longer be posted in chapters. So if you are still curious to see what the Ulak knives look like, I posted a link on my profile page. **_


	25. Chapter 25

_**No excuses. I've been lazy.**_

_**However, guess what? I got more hate mail! Yay! I don't know if you guys remember the last time I got it, way back at chapter twelve. But just as before, I am mortified that people are upset. And on the INTERNET of all places! My god! What am I to do?**_

_**Wait! I've got it! I have put forth the effort, gone the extra mile to make this possibly the most horrible, most awful, most gruesome piece of literature that I have ever written.**_

_**I am totally sincere when I say that I hope that the unfortunate hate mail senders are able to be at peace once again.**_

"Talking"

'Thinking'

_Flashbacks and comments_

Disclaimer and Author comments

Disclaimer: I disclaim….

Renegade Ch. 25

The three of them had decided to take it easy after the last battle. They had gotten the scroll they needed off of the one Sakura killed. It was by pure luck that it wasn't on the one that Naruto incinerated.

The incendiary arrows that Naruto invented with help were considered a success, not a huge one as they still needed some work, but they were clearly effective.

Sasuke's new sharingan was by far the biggest breakthrough. Now having two tome in each eye, he now had the ability to cast low to mid level genjutsu. Kakashi was right; it didn't take Sasuke all that long to activate the second level of his doujutsu, though he had to admit that it was going to be a while before he was able to unlock the third.

While Sasuke's performance in the last fight was impressive, he was the first to confess that he had a long road ahead of him before he mastered the second tome. The second level was purely the activation of genjutsu abilities. His other abilities to read opponents did slightly increase, but it was nothing substantial. He was able to read opponents slightly better, though it was only a small boost so to speak. It was nothing Sasuke couldn't have obtained with a little bit of practice on his part.

Sakura was proud of herself. She held off and defeated an opponent that was clearly out classing her. Granted she had Naruto to thank for the distraction, even still, she was going to be proud of herself anyway. And besides, she had to admit, even though they were ambushed, that was a lot of fun.

Naruto was well, Naruto. He had a blast, and told them all about he spent pretty much the whole time playing hide and seek with the girl he incinerated. It was the most fun he had had in a while. And while they were all on edge as they had been taken completely by surprise, they all agreed that they had a good time of it.

Even still, it was time they cut their losses. Naruto made it no secret that he wanted to hunt that Gaara kid down, but he was convinced to just let it go for now. They were in hostile territory, there was a good likelihood that there were people who were actively hunting them down at this very moment. (Due to Naruto and Sasuke's conversation.)

With that, came the opportunity to kill whoever found them, if they did anyway. Even still, Naruto would not 'let' anyone find them on purpose. He would do what he could to keep them hidden.

And, to top it all off, Sakura was wounded. It wasn't serious, but it would definitely slow her down. That was really the deciding factor though, neither of the two boys thought it was a good idea to needlessly endanger Sakura just to have fun. They had the scroll, mission accomplished.

Now they were just going to focus on staying alive and unhurt for the next few days while they waited. It wouldn't be fun, it was and wasn't in any of their nature, but it was the right thing to do given the circumstances.

Sakura wanted to prove herself not only to the boy, not the man she loved, but to the monster who had become her friend. She was smart; she could see what he was and what he was becoming. She didn't understand it; she didn't even know any of the specifics. But if he continued like he was, he could become a monster, or whatever he was, and a good man. That is if he lived that long. But most of all, for the moment, she wanted to prove herself to herself.

Sasuke wanted to fight. Killing to him was fun, but it was more like it was incidental, collateral damage. That was fine, he accepted that. But that didn't mean that Naruto hadn't rubbed off on him some. Through unspoken words, Naruto had shown him that the only true fights, was when one was engaged in mortal combat. Sasuke now believed him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Orochimaru was both furious, and at the same time, a little terrified. Furious at himself, at the blond monstrosity, and angry at his future body. Though the last was becoming a distant maybe by the second. The damage was already done.

He had watched them, for days. Watched them kill, watched how they did it, and despite himself, he was impressed.

He knew that the blond was the Kyubi brat from the instant he saw him. But it wasn't until later that he realized how truly dangerous he was. Not now, not for a great many years, but the danger was still very real.

It wasn't until they had been ambushed that he had realized that all three of them were actually gifted. Such a thing was exceedingly rare, especially since they were all on the same team. But then he studied them all further, trying to figure out the best way to approach Sasuke. Trying to figure out the way that he would be most attracted to the very real power he could offer. But it was too late for that now.

He figured it out as he watched the brat play his version of hide and seek. That is, he realized just _who_ he was. At first he refused to believe it, but it was undeniable. He looked the same, and even acted the same; he was his father's son. And then it clicked even more. This was not only a boy who was born to end lives, he was _his_ son, he had the gift like his father had, and he had the Kyubi at his disposal. He would shake the world; he could save it or condemn it. But Orochimaru already knew what he would do. He would throw all that away, for his family, for a woman. Orochimaru, despite his genius, never could understand that. The Yondaime could have literally ruled the world, but for whatever reason, these born killers never seemed interested in that.

These born killers were so rare, that they might as well not even exist. He once tried to harness that power, tried to steal this person's body. It didn't work, it almost killed him actually. They couldn't be broken, their bodies, their minds simply didn't know how to. They were truly different on a molecular level, at least that's what Orochimaru thought. The fact that their very soul was also different had never even occurred to him. Psychopaths, while they had advantages, there were things they could never grasp.

Orochimaru had done a lot of research into it actually. As soon as he saw firsthand what one of these people could do, he devoted much time into trying to recreate the effects. Of course, this would require actually finding others. That in itself proved to be almost impossible. In his whole life, he had only encountered five. He had heard of others now long dead, but he studied them anyway.

They didn't break; they had almost none of the weaknesses that others did. They would not lose their reason if a loved one died in front of them. Hell, they didn't even morn the same way. They were the kind of people that did what they thought was right, regardless of the consequences. Of course, they weren't perfect. Obviously their sense of 'right' could be wrong and deranged. After all, evil was only a point of view. That being said, it was one of their strengths. They didn't play political games, didn't care for anything but them and theirs actually. While somewhat primitive in a way, it did work for them.

Even with that, there was something that he did understand though. Born killers were sought after by everyone that knew of them, for various reasons. They were truly the ultimate breed, the perfect warriors. However, one of them with a gift was not even thought of. Such a person was and could not exist. Those that did occasionally think of it simply thought it was a fantasy. A dream that couldn't be fulfilled, a near god. That is, until the Kiroii Senkou appeared. He had both, and he was all but invincible. Compared to him, even Orochimaru's power was like nothing.

And now, his son had both, and the Kyubi. Such a person could become truly invincible. Though it didn't actually appeal to him, Orochimaru thought it amusing that he would actually do the world a favor by killing him. Who knew how screwed up the boy was. But he couldn't just do that, not anymore. They weren't brothers yet, but they would be. That was the effect that these people had on others that were close to them. So, he couldn't just kill Naruto. No, he needed to figure this out. Sasuke would never leave Naruto's side willingly, not ever. He could not break Naruto, but he could arrange something else.

Sasuke would likely not seek out Itachi as passionately as he would before. But if Itachi killed Sasuke's new family, then Sasuke would break, and seek him out. Sasuke was not Naruto; Sasuke could be broken, even if he did have the gift.

With that, Orochimaru knew what he needed to do now. He could not make himself known to Sasuke, not yet anyway. If he did, they would turn Sasuke against him, and even if Sasuke did seek him out later, he would be much more wary and cautious. That could not be allowed. So, he would just give Sasuke the seal now, without revealing himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The attack came fast, sudden, and unexpected. Just like the last ambush, but this one was different. It started with a huge snake. Bigger than any Naruto had ever seen. Naruto managed to throw a kunai at it; it just bounced harmlessly off of its scales.

The snake swallowed Naruto, and then its head exploded in a wonderful display of blood, pieces of jaw bone and skull, and brain matter. Naruto was nowhere in sight. That was fine though, Sasuke and Sakura knew that he was just hiding somewhere to try to take whoever this was by surprise.

Then, that weird Grass nin from earlier appeared, and attacked them. Or rather, annihilated them. Sasuke tried to stun it with his shock jutsu, but it just bounced off of him. Sakura tried to stab him, but he grabbed the kunai with his bare and slapped her away like a fly. Sending her flying like a lightning bolt into a nearby tree.

Naruto let loose the Kyuubi inside of him. He didn't let a tail loose, he had next to no practice going that far and now wasn't the time to experiment. Naruto attacked the nin with everything he had, clones, jutsus, and his Ulaks. It didn't even slow the Grass nin down. He either somehow canceled them out, or countered them with another more powerful jutsu.

However, it did reveal one thing, the amount of chakra that the nin had. It was as much as Naruto had in his Kyubi state. Even Kakashi didn't have that much. Perhaps the Hokage, but even still, this was just insane. He was far stronger than Naruto, and eventually, swatted him like a fly as well; Naruto didn't get back up, after going through a giant tree branch.

Sasuke threw some kunai, and attacked. It may have been futile, and stupid. But he would not even try to abandon his teammates. Though even if he ran he knew he couldn't escape, but he would not die running away or on his knees either.

Sasuke attacked, and was quickly subdued. Then the Grass nins neck extended and he bit Sasuke on his neck. There was a poof and an explosion. Mud sprayed everywhere.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"My god, that was just an earth clone?" Sakura whispered when she was filled in.

They were all resting in a high tree, risking running into the spiders again. While it was very dangerous, they figured that it would be the last place whatever that was would look for them.

They were all beaten up. Even with Naruto's regenerative abilities he didn't wake up for almost eight hours. It was midnight by the time Sasuke had revived both of them. Thankfully, none of them had any crippling injuries. Sakura had what she thought was a cracked rib, but remarkably, that was almost it.

"I know, right? I don't think it was even taking us seriously either." Sasuke said with a somewhat look of awe.

"Well, there's only like a day left, we can make it." Naruto said with iron in his voice. His teammates believed him. Other than the fact that Naruto had said it, they didn't have much of a choice.

"Any idea where the tower is Naruto?" Sakura asked him, wondering if it was a good idea to just start moving in that direction right now.

"I don't know exactly where it is, but I do know where it's not." Naruto said, understanding the logic in her question. "I'm sure that it's nowhere near the edges, and I've been in most of the deeper sections of the forest.

"There isn't an exact center to the forest, but I do have a rough idea of where it should be." Naruto said, bringing out a scroll and started sketching out a rough drawing.

It was too bad they didn't have time to prepare for this. In Naruto's tree house he actually had a custom map that was probably the most accurate map of the forest in existence. Other than Anko, Naruto probably knew the forest better than anyone. He had been exploring and mapping it out for years.

Sasuke and Sakura helped him out with the drawing process as they had both seen Naruto's map at least once. Sasuke vowed to himself to look at it later with his sharingan active. And with that, they narrowed it down to an area of about five square kilometers. While that was a lot of ground, they hoped that the tower might be tall enough that they would be able to see it from some distance away.

After some debating they decided to head to the tower now. Even if they weren't trying to be careful, and weren't injured, they were at least half a day from the area they had decided upon. But other teams would be waiting to ambush other teams, probably them in particular. However, they knew if they ran into that Grass nin again, they were dead. In other words, they didn't have a choice.

Naruto briefly entertained the idea of a distraction involving luring the spiders to the tower in hopes that they would kill off the remaining teams, but that was quickly dismissed. There were too many variables. Naruto knew how to attract them, but it wasn't like he could control them. Not only that, but they could get Hinata, and that was unacceptable.

So, deeming it worth the risk, they were just going to gun it towards the tower, and hope that they could take whatever was already there. If they got there early, they would just have to deal with it and kill whoever got in their way.

Of course, that couldn't be the whole plan. Naruto would leave clones and such all over the place. They needed as much information on the tower and any enemy teams around. The more they knew, the better chance they had of making it without incident. In fact, Sakura had come up with a plan that was so bold that it could actually get them through without having to confront anyone, even if they did run into them.

She had come up with the idea that they should just henge into ANBU agents. Maybe it would work, and maybe it wouldn't. Either way, it couldn't hurt to try. However they didn't know the exact protocols of ANBU. On that note, they didn't even know what the proper amount of team members they had. For all they knew, ANBU didn't operate with fewer members than a platoon.

They figured that they would add one more clone to their group and just hope for the best. Though, they had made sure to drive the point home to Naruto. At one point Naruto actually just smiled at Sakura's warning saying, 'Of course not Sakura, I would NEVER expose us just to kill someone.' Naruto replied with a wicked grin, though it was not the one that used to haunt Sakura's nightmares.

Sakura was pissed. She was hurt, Sasuke was hurt, and even Naruto was hurt, sort of. They didn't have Naruto's regeneration abilities; he was healing even faster than before. Undoubtedly it was due to the Kyuubi going to the 'next stage.' It was also determined that before Wave Naruto may simply have had faster healing abilities, but after it was clear that that was no longer the case, he was now what Sakura and Kakashi had dubbed, a regenerator. Sasuke and Naruto both thought that was 'fucking awesome.'

Sakura couldn't risk it. Naruto had gotten better, but he was still a risk. They were all good, but even at full strength, there was still the risk that they could run into someone better. But they were all injured; neither she nor Sasuke could take the risk. Both of them pinned Naruto down and forced his cooperation. It wasn't easy, but they had his hands pinned, he couldn't make seals, and Sakura was stronger than him now. It took them all of five minutes, but they did drive their point home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The plan worked perfectly. When they were almost at the tower, they were actually confronted by a team from Kumo. Team seven didn't even stop to acknowledge them. They simply ran right by them, ignoring any and all challenges. Though, Naruto admitted that he was a little disappointed, even he agreed though that it was the best way to handle things. While Naruto was healing very well, even he wasn't up to a real fight, not yet anyway.

After Iruka had explained what was going on, they were left with almost three days to recover, and do pretty much nothing.

"I'm already bored." Naruto declared dryly. Sasuke though, got a vicious grin on his face. Eyes opening wide in a mocking way.

"I know! Naruto, let's have a SPELLING CONTEST!" Sakura started laughing and Naruto actually got a bit embarrassed and angry. It was now common knowledge among the people that knew him that Naruto sucked at reading and writing. That is, Sasuke told everyone about Naruto's '_asvault'_ into Gato's mansion.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They were all excited and not just team seven. While there was a fair amount of nervousness from many who were excited, Naruto couldn't be happier. More people had made it through than originally expected, this however meant that many people would be required to fight more than once, or even twice in a preliminary tournament.

When the Hokage explained all this, it was a strange sort of speech. While he expressed his supposed regret that many would have to fight more than others, and that this would be a little unfair, he also more or less told everyone that this was just the way things were and that they had to deal with it. While there was some complaining, no one really made all that much of a fuss. And no one made a scene. This wasn't just a tournament, and no one wanted to appear weak to the other villages' shinobi.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was already in a bad mood, it had been a full day and so far he hadn't been able to fight. For that matter, no one from Konoha had fought either. The fights that did go on were for the most part just pathetic. While there were a few that were interesting, for the most part the fights lasted almost twenty minutes each. That was just ridiculous, and embarrassing.

True fights, when it's literally mortal combat, rarely last more than a few minutes, even when both combatants are professionals. The key to combat, no matter what kind of fighter you are, is speed. Any true warrior knows that the secret to surviving and winning is inflicting the most possible damage as quickly as possible. Apparently, that was a secret that either was never taught, or had to be learned by oneself.

"Are these people for real? I mean seriously, is this whole thing an act?" Naruto asked in bewilderment, honestly confused.

They had just watched another long and boring fight between a girl and a guy, and neither knew what the fuck they were doing. Sure, they had potential, even Naruto could see that, but they were either stupid, or hopelessly naive. They had fought on and off for almost twenty-five minutes, Twenty-Five! Naruto could understand feeling out your opponent if the need arose. That is, if fighting strait up didn't seem like it would work, taking some time was a sensible strategy to figure out a way around whatever special ability your enemy had.

However, neither had much of anything as far as that went. There was no need to feel out each other for this fight. If they had just realized this, the fight could have been over in less than five minutes. While they weren't from a large village, in fact Naruto didn't even recognize the symbol on either of their headbands; it should still be common sense that this was a very good strategy if you wanted to get yourself killed. More or less, they had no killer instinct. Nothing to tell them to go in for the kill. Even if they didn't want to kill their opponent, which Naruto couldn't really understand, they still should have that urge and the aggressiveness to finish it. Naruto had seen it plenty of times in normal civilians that didn't even like to fight.

Kakashi just sighed, "I know what you're thinking Naruto. And the answer is that they have been taught that by their instructors. The thing is, is that most lessons need to be learned by themselves. You see, there is a big difference between knowledge, and wisdom." Sakura looked a little confused, but Sasuke seemed to understand.

After that, Naruto seemed to somewhat understand. He talked to his teammates, and after explaining everything to Sakura, he asked about the parts that he didn't understand. Sasuke told him that the 'killer instinct' that everyone can learn comes to him naturally. That everyone else does need to wise up. Naruto seemed to understand that.

After another hour of boring fights, Naruto's name finally came up. Naruto jumped up and cheered, happy to finally kill someone. On his way down, Hinata, much to Kiba's horror, came up and wished Naruto luck by giving him a quick hug. It was so fast that Naruto didn't have any time to react, so he just ended up smiling and going down to the arena a little dazed. Though Kakashi and Sakura kind of thought it was a little cute.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Finally, someone that looks up to a real fight!" said a somewhat young female Iwa nin. Naruto had seen her fight, two times already. She thought she was good, but in reality she was just arrogant because her opponents were just weak.

Naruto smirked, "I'm sorry, I'm not exactly glad to fight a weakling like you. And even sadder, I don't think that I'm going to enjoy killing you nearly as much as I would have killing your teammates." Naruto said with a shrug. While he spoke in honesty, it was also said to rile her up some. She may have been weak to him, but this was still mortal combat, at least for him. And as such, it was a sound strategy to piss off your enemy in order to get them to make mistakes.

She bristled. "Fuck you! You are as blond, stupid, and arrogant as your beloved Yellow Faggot Flash!" she yelled at Naruto, a little bit of hate evident in her tone. Every Konoha jounin in the indoor stadium had to control themselves from flinching and tensing up, including the Hokage.

Naruto visibly flinched though, that was the wrong thing to say to him. However, she just took it as a sign of victory and grinned viciously at him. However, that grin soon faded into a frown of worry, and confusion.

Naruto simply adopted a calm look, and responded. "Honey, I'm going to tear your heart out, and before you die, you're going to watch me eat it." Naruto said in a pleasant tone. This time, no ninja from Konoha was able to stop themselves from either paling, or flinching. It was common knowledge, whatever else he was, Naruto was not a liar.

Little did they know that this day, this tournament would become one of the most, if not the single most infamous Chunin exam in history. Naruto was right, while some of the hopeful shinobi there did have some special skill that made them worthy of taking the exam; the vast majority were just above average for Genin, surviving because of a better teammate. They were the ones that didn't, or rather hadn't developed that killer instinct that told them when to end a fight. If they had that, then they would have had a much better chance.

Naruto's actions would spark something that would shake the great nations. Unintentionally sending a message to make sure that their genin truly were ready for the exams, Drove the fact home that for genin, they needed the experience, needed to see the dying first hand before they even started to consider taking them. For lessons not learned in blood are soon forgotten. The fight started fast, and ended even faster. Naruto acted like a true warrior should and didn't waste time. He remembered his lessons from his time surviving on the streets. Don't get caught up with the idea of wanting your enemy to know they were going to die. Granted, that was exactly what Naruto ended up doing, but it was purely coincidental. He would have made good on his promise even if he had already killed her, it just so happened that she happened to be alive at the time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was holding a badly beaten and cut up Iwa kunichi by her throat, actually holding her in the air. One of her eyes was swelled shut, she was missing a few teeth, and both of her knees were blown out backwards, one of them bone was actually visible through the tactical pants she was wearing.

Naruto didn't hesitate; he pulled back his right arm, and thrust it into her chest cavity, easily burring his hand inside her. Her one functioning eye bulged with the shock of it. Naruto then viciously ripped her heart out, pulling it straight out, making a gaping hole in her chest, her ribs now looking like something had exploded inside her.

Before she could pass out, Naruto brought the heart to her face so she could see it, and took a bite out of it. Naruto sunk his very sharp teeth in deep, but not all the way through. Then, he just tore the heart away with his hand, letting it just tear a chunk out. With a look of pure terror on her face, she died. Naruto took a moment to consider it, and then spit the chunk out in her face, dropping her corpse right after.

There was utter silence for almost a full ten seconds while the dozens of shinobi tried to come to terms with the pure brutality of it all. Then, one of her teammates screamed. Not wasting any time, Naruto beamed the kid in the face with what was left of the heart. The kid then started screaming even louder, though now with a touch of insanity in it. Naruto made a mocking scream, and then started to laugh, really hard. He looked absolutely horrifying. His hysterical laugh, nightmare of a grin, and blood soaked cloths, blood coating the lower half of his face.

After he was done, he looked around triumphantly. "HA! I dare someone to do better than that!" he yelled, pointing at the corpse.

The next few fights were desperate attempts at survival. It just went to show how green most of them really were. If they had any sense at all, most of them would and should have just withdrawn. It was even worse that for whatever reason the jounin that were there didn't tell their students too. They all knew how truly out classed they were, and that made them panic. They lost their heads and fought with pure animal instinct. All the professionalism theory that they had been taught went right out the window. All any of them were thinking of was surviving, and that meant killing. Naruto had successfully eliminated the option of leaving your opponent alive. Because at this point, if you didn't kill them, they were going to kill you.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hinata kept her cool, and had her poker face on. She hadn't come this far to wimp out now. Her team was watching her, her friends, Naruto. Her opponent was from a village that she didn't recognize, but it didn't matter. He had the same look of panic that most of the others did. After the proctor gave the signal, he charged forward with a scream and aimed a punch at her face.

Hinata quickly drew a kunai, and simply held it out, letting the boy impale his right fist on it. The blade went all the way through, pushing all the bones to the sides. He was in shock at first, and then blood started gushing out of the wound. With another yell, he tried to punch her with his left fist. Hinata ducked under it, and got close on his right side, lifting his right arm as she did.

Hinata had another kunai in her right hand, and used to slash his ribs when she got close. She then stabbed him in the side once, and then putting it in his armpit. That started bleeding heavily even though she left that kunai in there. She then twisted behind him, and used the end of the kunai that had impaled his hand, to pin his hand to his leg.

Then, finally using her family technique, she put a jyuuken strike to the base of his skull. It cut his screaming off instantly.

Like after every other fight, all was silent, at least for a moment. Then, Naruto started cheering for her, calling out how badass she was. Hinata smiled, it felt so good to be complimented by Naruto. Not only that, but both Sakura and Sasuke were also cheering, apparently put in the mood of it by Naruto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gaara was for the first time in his life, truly excited. He did not know why, truly couldn't even understand what he was feeling to begin with. All he knew was that he got to kill people, and he wasn't the only one having a good time with it, and that he was actually 'playing' with other kids his age for the first time.

As soon as the blonde killer had started all of this, things started to change. He could feel it, almost taste it in the air. Gaara wasn't quite as psychotic as everyone thought he was, almost anyway. While it was quickly becoming his true self, for a long time he acted the way he did because he got the response that he wanted. FEAR. And right now, he was experiencing more of that than he had ever been around, and that was truly saying something. Somehow, the blonde monster had killed someone, granted it was in a very brutal fasion, but that was not something that was unheard of in a tournament. Then, he spoke one sentence, just one, and turned the thing into a bloodbath. Gaara had never had so much fun in his life.

It was finally Gaara's turn to fight, his opponent was scared, but not of him. Just another pathetic kid playing at being a ninja, he would never become one. The moment the proctor gave the signal, the kid predictably charged him. It took all of two seconds for Gaara's sand to trap him in place, and lift him in the air upside down.

Inspired by Naruto's challenge and creativeness, Gaara commanded his sand to only encase the boy's legs, arms, and after watching in amusement the look of terror, his head. More or less, he was hanging upside down in a crucified position. With a smirk, Gaara closed his fist and relished in the audible crunch of flesh and bone. Gaara could literally feel the boy's blood soak into his sand, and it was very satisfying to see the sand take a darker shade as well.

It only took a moment, but after a second the dismembered and decapitated torso fell to the ground bleeding profusely. Bleeding almost as much as when Naruto ripped the girl's heart out. There was so much, that Gaara seriously doubted that they would ever be able to remove the dark stains on the stone floor. And indeed, there would be a great many stains after this was all over.

After a moment of shocked silence, Naruto called out. "WHOA! HOW FUCKING AWESOME WAS THAT?" Naruto yelled out, giving Gaara a genuine smile of approval.

Gaara smiled back, and for the first time in many years, it was a true smile. No one had ever congratulated him before; he actually felt proud of himself, not that he knew what that truly was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura had a plan, and she was actually proud that she came up with it on her own. While she admitted to herself that she did get a little inspiration from a movie, she was almost positive no one had ever tried this before.

Her opponent was girl from Kumo. She was perhaps a few years older than her; she still didn't look all that intimidating. She did though, look slightly more prepared than most of the other combatants she had seen. While she could tell that she was a little nervous, it was a far cry from the practically frantic state most of the others were in. Sakura took a few deep breaths, and hardened herself. She was finally getting what Naruto had instructed her about using her anger. She controlled her fury, and got mean.

It started with the girl throwing a couple shuriken at Sakura who just blocked them with a kunai. The girl then tried to hit Sakura with a flying knee. Following Hinata's example from earlier, Sakura just let the knee cap drive itself into her kunai. The girl instantly collapsed, now screaming in agony, clutching at the kunai that was now stuck in her knee. Sakura wasn't done yet though, she needed to finish this fast.

Before anyone could interfere, Sakura jumped on the girl. She grabbed her right arm and positioned her right foot on the girl's ribs for leverage. Then, Sakura started pulling as hard as she could. It only took a moment for the arm to dislocate itself, causing the girl to scream even louder, now finally trying feebly to fight back. But it was already too late.

After a few seconds loud popping and tearing noises were heard, followed by some strange crunching sounds. Then it was obvious that Sakura was going to succeed. Drawing on more strength than she usually was able to call upon, Sakura heaved with everything she had. With a loud wet ripping sound, Sakura tore the screaming girls arm off.

For a moment she was in shock, then she was just plain hysterical. Sakura didn't want the proctor to call the fight yet though, so as fast as she could, she started beating the girl with her own severed limb.

After a few blows to the face, it was already becoming obvious that the girl was no longer in her right mind. Now all she was doing was a strange kind of wailing moan. After a few more strikes, Sakura smashed her face in, collapsing it in upon itself. Sakura stopped and just stared in mild fascination.

Everything from the upper lip to the forehead was crushed, however everything below that was almost untouched. Sakura couldn't help but watch as the body, including the tongue thrashed around for a moment before finally going still.

After a few moments, Sasuke and Naruto started cheering and whistling. While Sakura did feel a little sick, she still managed to smile never the less. Even that creepy red head kid with that sand was giving her an approving look.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke tried to keep the smirk off of his face as he observed his opponent. He was looking a little cocky, perhaps too cocky. Sasuke had seen him fight, and he had indeed killed his opponent, brutally. However, while he had managed to finally decapitate him, it took far too long to do so. While better than most around here, he still wasn't all that great.

Sasuke let him charge, not even bothering to activate his sharingan. He side stepped a swipe with a kunai, and jumped in the air. The kid threw the kunai at Sasuke while going through some hand seals. Sasuke blocked the kunai, and let him almost be caught in the quicksand type earth jutsu that the boy used.

Before the ground was completely turned, Sasuke jumped again, performing a somersault over the boy. The kid managed to use a kunai to block the swing that Sasuke had aimed at his neck, but that was exactly what Sasuke wanted him to do.

Sasuke had been working on a new type of jutsu. Not so much inventing a new one, but simply altering and modifying another one. It actually took less seals that the original, though it did require slightly more chakra. The jutsu was basically a single stream of fire. Or rather, every bit of power that his grand fireball technique had, this had as well. The only difference was that it was concentrated in one single intense stream of fire. When it was tested out, Sasuke finally succeeded in glassing the sand on the beach he was practicing on. It was epic; he was even able to almost kill Naruto with it.

Sasuke was still upside down when he finished the seals. Doing the seals in mid air did leave him open though. During this time the other boy jumped at Sasuke attempting to stab him. Had Sasuke finished two seconds later, the boy probably would have succeeded too.

As it was though, just as Sasuke had planned, Sasuke was able to hit him at point blank range. Not that it mattered at that range, but Sasuke aimed for center mass. It was beautiful; the fire hit him right where Sasuke wanted it too. Sasuke only held the jutsu as long as he was still in the air that was only for a second or two. After he finished, the kid's entire torso was already falling apart before he hit the ground. When he did, it pretty much turned into dust, leaving just the charred limbs and head to hit the ground.

Just as with all the others, his teammates cheered and whistled for him. Sasuke let out a genuine smile

_Beta Comments: Still wondering about a few things this guy is saying, I correct where I know and I do a few additions, nothing heavy, just my own little touches. Interesting usage of a concentrated Goukakyou no jutsu. I have no clue what Speeeling is, but I think he meant spelling, then again I could be wrong._

_Anyway thanks for reading and PEACE OFF. (__**Yes, I kind of misspelled spelling, ironic I know.)**_

_Kiroii Senkou - Yellow Flash, as everyone should know at this point in time, Namikaze Minato, Naruto's father. Gained this name through his signature technique that allows him to teleport from point to point wherever a specific seal is placed._


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I disclaim….

"Talking"

'Thinking'

**Renegade Ch: 26**

Anko was sitting alone in her apartment wishing dearly that she could down the entire bottle of sake that was sitting in front of her, mocking and laughing at her. As she did this, she thought of the recent events that had occurred. After Sakura's fight, the ones in charge decided to call it a day. After sleeping and finally calming down, almost everyone still alive cut their losses and quit. It was the smartest thing any of them could have done.

After witnessing the last half of it, Anko was scared. Naruto was coming along faster than she thought possible. He spoke one sentence, just one, and started wide spread panic that not even most of the jounin saw through. It was terrifying to see that a fourteen year old had that much potential and didn't even know it yet. Not even Orochimaru at that age could have done it. If she hadn't met Orochimaru in the forest, she would be getting wasted, but as it was, she couldn't afford to. Something was coming, something was going to happen very soon, and she needed to be prepared for it. But that also meant that there was a good chance that she was going to die too. That's just how war was, and she was sure that if Orochimaru was here, that's exactly what was coming.

With a sigh she thought about other things that were bothering her, things that were distracting her. Namely a certain silver haired elite Jonin that might as well be the father of the scariest genin she had ever heard of. For that matter, she had been avoiding him for various reasons. One of which was that she honestly had no idea what to say to him. What was she supposed to do? It's not like she asked for that or anything.

'_Then again, what do I have to lose? It's either ignore him, or sit here and be alone,'_ Anko thought bitterly to herself. 'For now though, I think Kurenai can help come up with a good way kill time.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For the first time in his life, Kiba was not afraid to admit he was nervous. He had yet to fight, and all that were left were the ones that truly belonged here. Both of his teammates had fought, though only Hinata had actually killed anyone. Shino had simply blown up his opponents arms, effectively ending his career. Still, that was more than enough to warrant praise from Naruto and his team of psychopaths.

Kiba just sighed; it wasn't supposed to be this way. Things had calmed down, but that didn't mean that the atmosphere had made a drastic change. While many had calmed down a lot over the night, it almost got the same point it was at yesterday after Naruto walked back in the room. Everyone may have been somewhat under control, but the tension was still very, very high. And although more people were surviving, a lot of people were still dying.

A girl named Ten-Ten just finished her fight with a girl from the sand village, and it was by pure luck that she wasn't paralyzed, or dead.

Kiba was waiting for the names to stop spinning when his name came up. Kiba was actually slightly relieved. As nervous as he was, he was actually glad to just get it over with. Then, he heard Hinata and Kurenai gasp. Kiba looked up only to pale considerably, he was going to fight Naruto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto looked at Kiba and scoffed. "Great, I get to fight runt boy and wonder dog," Naruto said in a sarcastic tone. Sasuke just gave him an annoyed look.

"Come on, he might not be stronger than you, but that doesn't mean that he is weak. If you don't take him seriously, he might actually kill you. I mean he sure as hell is going to take you seriously."

Naruto just gave Sasuke an annoyed look in return. "Really? He doesn't look all that tough."

Sakura sighed. "Right, and in some of the photos we've taken together you _**look**_ tall, get your shit together Naruto," Sakura said in a slightly mocking tone. Naruto just gave her a withering glare while Sasuke laughed. With a sigh, Kakashi put his two cents in as well.

"Naruto, they're right. Kiba might not be quite as good as you, but he's still strong enough to kill you if you let your guard down." Kakashi hated to put a leaf genin in deliberate danger like this as he was more or less encouraging Naruto to kill Kiba. But Naruto was his student and his responsibility, Kiba wasn't. As much as it hurt, Naruto was like a son to him, and he would rather Kiba be killed and carry the guilt than Naruto die. It was a heavy price and burden, but he would pay it gladly.

After a moment Naruto just took a deep breath and focused. After that, he didn't hesitate and jumped into the arena. He was focused, driven, and deadly. Everyone could feel it, and for the most part were scared. They knew there was a lot more to him than they had seen so far, and right now he was looking at Kiba like the predator he was.

Kiba was just standing there shaking slightly. Suddenly some random person that he didn't see suddenly spoke out.

"He's fucked." After a moment of silence, someone else spoke out.

"Fifty bucks says that the Inuzuka is dead inside three minutes." After only a few seconds someone else responded.

"I'll take that bet." Then people started and the odds started being laid out. Not betting on whether or not Kiba would die, just on how long it was going to take. The whole thing was serving to piss Kiba off, and scare the shit out of him.

Kiba was a very proud person; it came with the way he was raised and his very biology. Inuzuka were very much strait forward. As such, Kiba would rather die than back down. That is unless Naruto was a genuine 'Alpha' and was both stronger and dominant over Kiba. Kiba did not really know what to make of it. After a few encouraging words from both of his teammates and his sensei, he decided that there was nothing he could do about it and to just go ahead and fight with absolutely everything he had, even if it meant that he was going to die.

Kiba jumped down into what everybody had silently agreed to as the indoor gladiator arena and tried to calm himself down. He looked across and tried to hold eye contact with Naruto. He tried, tried and failed. Right now Naruto was in his element, doing what he was truly meant to do. Kiba was not going to win, he was going to die. He knew it, but wasn't going to accept it. His heart told him to fight and die with honor. His head told him to quit and survive. His mother and the clan would be disappointed, but he would survive.

Hinata was truly conflicted for the first time in a while. Naruto had given her strength that she didn't know she had. She knew Naruto was a monster, but that was ok. He was a good person even still; somehow he was, despite everything that said that should be impossible. She accepted and understood him to a degree, at least more than most people except perhaps Kakashi and the Sandaime. Hinata had spent enough time with him that she knew him just about as well as Sasuke and Sakura. While his kills weren't always really necessary, especially the brutality of it all. His reasons and the philosophy behind it was surprisingly firm and made sense.

Even with all that, with everything she knew and loved about him, Kiba was her teammate and friend. Even if he annoyed the hell out of her sometimes, he was still her friend, and she already owed her life to him. While they were on the same team, it only made sense for them to have saved each other's lives a few times, but it still held significance with them. So, she would ask Naruto a favor. Even if it made him a hypocrite to a certain degree, she didn't care and wouldn't think any less of him, but rather be grateful. While Naruto might not like Kiba, Kiba was still a leaf shinobi and a possible friend to him one day. The same rules did not apply with one's comrades. However, all of the 'rules' were not yet known to all of them. But Hinata was certain that the unnecessary deaths of comrades were among them.

"Naruto," Hinata called out in a tone that only asked for his attention. She got it. "Kiba is a friend, and a comrade to you. If you can, would you spare his life? Please, for me?" Naruto blinked, surprised. Then after a moment of thought, he gave her a soft real smile back. That told her all she needed to know.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kiba was in a little bit of shock, but that quickly turned to a bit of relief. While Hinata's reasons were far from what he would have liked, she gave him a chance at least. If he didn't die in the process of the fight, Naruto would spare his life. And that was a huge relief. After a moment though he pulled himself together. He couldn't afford to let his guard down, the fight was about to begin.

The moment that the proctor started the match, Naruto was charging Kiba already forming hand seals. Kiba didn't have enough time to give Akamaru a soldier pill so he charged Naruto with a kunai out in an attempt to stop him from forming his jutsu. Akamaru still with him waiting for his chance to attack. Right before they were about to meet Naruto jumped in the air strait up.

Kiba jumped up as well, trying to intercept Naruto in mid air. Naruto however was right above Kiba and was holding the jutsu back until just the right moment. Just as Kiba was about to reach him, Naruto let the jutsu go right in his face. It was a simple gust jutsu that Naruto had modified. Instead of just a strong gust of air, Naruto had managed to sharpen it at the same time. The result being that when someone was hit with the jutsu it would not only knock them back, but also give them some nasty gashes. Kiba was directly under Naruto when the jutsu hit. Blood sprayed out in a vicious mist while both Kiba and Akamaru were thrown into the ground with devastating force.

Before they could recover, Naruto made two clones and propelled them downwards. While Kiba and Akamaru were rebounding off of the ground, the clones hit both with hard spinning back kicks, sending both into the same wall. Luckily for Kiba, they were relatively close to each other. And while they were both already in bad shape, they didn't have time to worry about it, and so they forced themselves on their feet.

Before Naruto could finish him off, Kiba threw a smoke bomb. Seconds later two whirlwinds of howling fury came at Naruto. As fast as Naruto was, he wasn't fast enough. The two vortexes plowed through both clones and while Naruto was able to avoid one, the other hit him with a direct hit, shooting Naruto across the arena and into the opposite wall. Naruto lay still for a moment, everyone silent, many both daring, and hoping that he was either out of the exams, or better yet, dead. He was someone that no one there ever wanted to fight for any reason.

After the attacks were finished, Akamaru collapsed, unable to continue. Kiba was just surprised that Akamaru had been able to perform the gatsuga at all; he could tell that the very first attack should have knocked him out.

As it was Kiba wasn't all that much better. He was barely standing. His face and body were cut up badly, and he was worried about his left eye, he couldn't see out of it at all. As it was, his body was cold, but certain parts of it were warm.

'Probably blood,' He thought wearily to himself. Just standing there, Kiba stared at Naruto's limp form, daring to believe that somehow he had won. In what seemed like minutes, though it had only been a few seconds, Naruto stirred and slowly got up. He shook his head once to clear it, and then focused on Kiba, ready to keep going.

There wasn't anyone there that wasn't surprised that Naruto was in as good shape as he was, though he hadn't gotten out of it unscathed. There was a pretty nasty gash on his left arm, blood was flowing down it and slowly pooling on the ground below, though it was only about half the amount that Kiba was letting out. After a few moment of staring, Kiba smiled.

"You have got to be shitting me," Kiba said weakly. Kiba's eyes rolled into the back of his head and then he collapsed. Naruto started forward, but then stopped remembering the silent promise he made to Hinata.

The proctor called the match before Naruto decided to change his mind. He saw everything that had gone on between Naruto and Hinata, but that's not to say that he trusted Naruto by any means. He took no chances when he called it off, he then signaled the medics.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Shit," Kurenai said quietly to herself. Hinata's name just came up, and she had to fight her cousin Neji. Hinata might be strong, but Neji was better and he truly hated her. If something wasn't done, Hinata was going to die.

Kurenai took a look at Hinata and saw the fear in her eyes, it wasn't hard to miss. That only made things worse, a lack of confidence and a lack of drive would get her killed for sure. If Hinata was going to fight, she needed every advantage she could get.

Kurenai was thinking quickly, she needed to boost Hinata's confidence and do it now. Then, she saw Naruto looking at Hinata strangely. Then it hit her, and with that, she caught Kakashi's eye and gave him a meaningful look. After a moment, Kakashi nodded and leaned down to whisper something to Naruto. At first Naruto only looked confused, but then he shrugged and started walking over to them.

Hinata was starting to panic; she knew she stood no chance against Neji. She was good, better than she thought she ever could be, but she wasn't in his league. But she couldn't just quit either. Her father may have lightened up recently, and actually started to seem almost nice and kind towards her, but that wouldn't matter if she quit. That would disgrace the clan if she did, and as a clan heiress that was inexcusable. Just as panic was beginning to set in, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Naruto's calm face.

"Hinata, slow down, you're not helping yourself. You can't go down there scared, or he _will_ kill you. You need to remember that he is trying to take everything away from you, trying to kill your dreams as well, kill everything that's important to you. Get mean, and direct your fury towards him. Don't focus on the problem, but on the solution," Naruto said, never breaking eye contact.

Hinata didn't say a thing, but slowly, she relaxed. She closed her eyes and everything that Naruto said made sense. She saw Naruto's smiling face; she saw her teammates and Kurenai smiling at her. She saw the smallest nods from her father, giving her that tiny amount of approval that she had sought her whole life. She saw her sister's face, and all the time they had had together. Then, she saw an older Naruto holding her with a look of love on his face, and everything set into place. She would not die here; she had too much to live for. She didn't want to kill Neji, but if he was trying to take all of those things away from her, than he had to die.

Hinata opened her eyes and looked back at Naruto with eyes that were full of cold fury. Naruto nodded.

"That's more like it. Now go down there and tear his fucking head off," Naruto said with steel in his voice. Hinata nodded and jumped into the arena where everyone was already waiting and ready.

As soon as Hinata was in her fighting stance, the proctor started the match. Neji started first, not even bothering to get into any sort of stance, he just stood there and started talking.

"Hinata, what are you doing? You loo…" that was all Neji was able to get out before Hinata was on him, forcing him on to the defensive, at least for the moment. Hinata knew that she wouldn't be able to be on the offensive for too long, and once Neji took the offensive, she wouldn't be able to last long. Her only chance was to wait for Neji to take advantage of an opening, and counter attack. She left an opening open on purpose. Neji had such a lack of faith in her abilities, that he didn't even question whether or not it was real.

Hinata was able to stay on the offensive for almost a minute before Neji finally got serious. Hinata was unrelenting in her attack, but she was surprised that she lasted even that long. Neji took the opening, hate burning and byakugan flaring.

Hinata took a hit to her left shoulder, at the same time she quick drew a kunai and slashed at his throat. Hinata was fast, Neji was faster though. Neji moved his head back at the last second, avoiding getting his neck wet. However, the kunai did cut deeply through his lips in a diagonal fasion, splitting his lips open in what would surly turn into an ugly scar.

Neji moved around Hinata and was able to hit her a few times in her abdomen before jumping back a distance and putting a hand to his bleeding face. Hinata couldn't attack yet, it was all she could do to stay standing.

Neji pulled his hand back to look at the amount of blood that was pooling out. As he looked at his hand he also saw pieces of one of his lips come off as well. Neji's eyes widened, and then narrowed, glaring at Hinata with venom.

"MY FACE, MY FUCKING FACE! YOU BITCH!" Neji screamed at Hinata with venom in his voice. Hinata couldn't help but smirk a little, even though a little blood was coming out of her mouth. Hyuga were not supposed to show any emotion, and drawing out such a reaction from Neji was a form of humiliation.

Neji didn't waste any time in charging forward, killing intent radiating off of him. Hinata tried to defend herself, but Neji wasn't holding back anymore. The first thing Neji did was hit the chakra points in Hinata's hands and forearms, effectively disabling her arms, in turn her arms fell uselessly to her sides.

Neji then hit her a few more times in her abdomen, then moving behind her and striking very specific points on her back. Then, moving back in front of her, Neji hit her a few more times on her torso. Neji jumped back a distance, viewing the damage he had caused with sadistic glee.

When Neji hit her back, her entire back contracted and froze up. Hinata was not able to move, apparently paralyzed and standing in place. Hinata was only conscious for a few seconds before her head went slack and blood flowed out of her mouth. Neji wasn't satisfied. Suddenly, the proctor seeing that Hinata was unconscious, and most likely dying, called out. "Match!" Neji scowled and charged Hinata again anyway.

Neji was only about ten feet from Hinata when Naruto appeared a few feet in front of him, red slitted eyes practically glowing with a sinister glare. Neji was dropped to his hands and knees; the wind was knocked out of him by the pure killing intent radiating from Naruto. Killing intent that was laced with two auras that he had never felt before. Killing intent that was threatening to give him a heart attack by it being directed at him. Neji looked at Naruto in terror. Naruto narrowed his eyes, and Neji passed out.

Every jounin drew their weapons, jumped into the arena and prepared to kill Naruto. Suddenly, Sasuke and Sakura appeared on either side of Naruto, Sasuke with his sword drawn, and sharingan blazing and spinning wildly. Kakashi also behind Naruto, sharingan also exposed, and in a defensive stance. For a moment, nobody moved, everyone either too shocked at Naruto's team's reaction, or scared shitless by Naruto.

Then the killing intent disappeared and Naruto rushed to Hinata, lowering her to the ground.

"HELP HER!" Naruto yelled out in the medics' direction. With nowhere near as much killing intent being put out, the medics leaped into action. They might be very afraid of Naruto, but that wouldn't stop them from doing their jobs.

After he woke up, Neji just stayed where he was, finally free of the suffocating aura that had been directed at him. Naruto didn't even glance at him before he left following Hinata out of there.

Shikamaru was standing still, completely in shock. On one hand, Naruto had just done something that could have easily gotten him kicked out of the exam, he did it to protect someone else, he just showed a chakra level that should not be possible for someone their age, and, he just did something that felt utterly demonic.

While everyone was starting to get settled again, and the rest of team seven was back to where they were standing before, Shikamaru sighed and made a bee line towards them with the thought, _'might as well get this over with.'_

While they were being discreet, most of the people left in the room were watching him. Almost none of them wanted anything to do with team seven, especially now. When Shikamaru got close enough that it was obvious he was going to ask something, everyone was now watching him, honestly curious as to what was going to happen.

"Yes?" Kakashi asked in a curious tone, also confused as to what he wanted. Shikamaru sighed.

"Just about everything Naruto just did pretty much blew everything out of the water of what I thought he was like. With everything I saw, none of it adds up. So, while I realize I should be asking him, even though it may be a bit dangerous, he is currently indisposed. So, what exactly is he?"

By now, it was deathly quiet. Everyone was wondering exactly the same thing. Kakashi just turned to Sasuke, as Sasuke was Naruto's best friend and knew Naruto the best other than him and the Hokage, and was really the one to be answering the question.

Sasuke was a little unsure of exactly how to answer that. For one, he decided that he wasn't going to tell them about the Kyuubi. While he doubted that Naruto would care, it still was not his secret to tell. On the other hand, just saying that Naruto was a born killer didn't seem to do him justice. So, giving a half answer, Sasuke replied in an honest tone.

"There isn't a name for what he is. At least not yet. Go and ask him if you want to figure that out, it won't be dangerous unless you annoy him, and there will be plenty of warning signs before you're in trouble." Sasuke finished with a shrug. That was all he was going to say, and they were just going to have to deal with it.

While everyone was processing this, something happened that would haunt the dreams of everyone in the room as much as the events of the tournament itself.

"YOSH! WHILE HIS METHODS MAY BE BRUTAL, IT IS CLEAR THAT HIS FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE LIKE A MINI SUN! THE YOUTHFUL COMPASSION TOWARDS HIS COMRADES IS TRULY AMAZING!" Maito Gai boomed, shocking everyone in the room bad enough to get them to jump.

"I AGREE SENSEI! HIS YOUTHFULNESS SEEMS TO KNOW NO BOUNDARIES! GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

Then, to the utter horror of everyone, they cried, hugged, and somehow formed a sunset indoors. Everyone was frozen in place, horror clear on their faces. Suddenly, something happened to make them jump again.

"MY SHARINGAN!" Sasuke screamed as he fell to his knees, palms in his eyes. Sasuke had yet to deactivate them.

"THE IMAGE! IT BURNS!" Sasuke wailed as he clawed at his face. Sakura had to move quickly to subdue Sasuke before he righteously blinded himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura was shocked to say the least; she had to fight her old best friend. They hadn't spoke for months, but she no longer held any animosity towards Ino. Ino had once been Sakura's best friend, and given the way things were going, Sakura might have to kill her.

Sakura didn't know what to do, or rather, didn't know what to feel. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned expecting to find Kakashi trying to comfort her, but was instead surprised to find it was Sasuke.

"Just don't think about it. Go down there and do what you have to do. If you don't want to finish her, you don't have to, but don't go easy on her either. I know it sucks, but this is what we do," Sasuke said in a strange tone that was somewhere in between being firm, and comforting. Sakura wasn't the only one that was surprised, though only Naruto and Kakashi were close enough to hear him.

Sakura nodded and jumped down into the pit. Naruto then turned to Sasuke.

"Where did that come from, and what's the problem?" Naruto asked, honestly confused. Sasuke just shrugged.

"They used to be really good friends, and she doesn't really want to kill her. As for why I said that…I really don't know," Sasuke said with an equally confused look on his face. Naruto just blinked, and then shrugged. They could talk later, now wasn't the time.

Down in the arena, things were tense. Sakura looked a little sad and even a little resigned, while Ino just looked nervous, and confused. Neither moved, waiting for the proctor to start the match. Sakura started first.

"Ino, withdraw. We were friends once, really good friends; I don't want to end it like this." Sakura said a little sadly. Ino just sneered at her.

"And what makes you think that you can beat me billboard brow?" Ino said in a mocking tone, though you could tell it was strained. To her surprise, Sakura just looked at her with a sad smile.

"I miss talking to you, I miss being your friend. But if we fight, either way, there is a good chance that this will be it." Sakura said, her tone hardening slightly. Ino just looked nervous again, suddenly remembering how Sakura ended her last match, how Sasuke finished his last match, and Naruto. The thought of him made Ino shudder most of all.

After a little bit of thought, Ino just settled into a slightly shaky fighting stance. She hadn't fought yet, so she hadn't killed anyone, but she knew this might just be the first time she ever did, but she didn't have a choice. Sakura might have just been another fan girl once, but not anymore. Whoever she was, she would kill her if it came down to it. Ino was not going to give her that chance.

Sakura just looked at her sadly one last time, before nodding sadly, "Okay, Ino, for what it's worth, I really enjoyed the good times." Ino was about to respond when she looked into Sakura's eyes. They were hard, cold, and unforgiving. It was the same look that Sakura had given the other girl before they fought.

Ino had been trained for a long time in reading people. In fact, next to the Hyuga, the Yamanaka's were the most perceptive clan in Konoha. The reason for this is because they're experts at interrogation. So from a young age all clan members were taught how to read and interpret body language. They weren't as good at it as the Hyuga, but the only reasons being was because of the byakugan, and that they didn't practice twenty-four seven. However, Ino didn't need the byakugan to read Sakura right now. She could see the fury right beneath the surface. The same fury that would literally tear her limb from limb. For the first time, it truly sunk in that she was in real trouble.

Ino adopted a shocked and scared visage as she looked into Sakura's unforgiving and cold eyes. Then, the proctor started the fight, and Sakura was on her.

Sakura charged with a kunai, taking advantage of Ino's shocked state. If Ino hadn't shaken herself out of it, she may very well have had her throat slit. As it was, she did get a moderate cut right under her chin. Ino did a back hand spring, kicking Sakura in the face in the process. Back when they used to spar, that would have ended it. Now though, it barely fazed Sakura at all. Sakura rushed forward again and tried to stab Ino, but Ino pulled her own kunai and blocked it. Sakura was insanely strong though and would have easily overpowered her, but Ino tilted the kunai so it slid off to the side harmlessly. Sakura though still didn't let this get to her and used her other hand to punch Ino right in the solar plexus.

Ino had the wind knocked out of her as she was launched backwards and into the wall. Ino's head was knocked backwards as she hit the wall, she saw white for a moment. Then as her vision cleared, she saw a few kunai headed straight at her. Ino did the only thing she could; she brought her arm up and turned to the side a bit to defend herself, the kunai impaling her arm and the left side of her torso in the process.

Ino knew that she was in trouble, but there wasn't all that much that she could do about it at the moment. At the last minute Ino came up with a plan, and she only had one chance to get it right. She pretended to be disoriented, not that much of a challenge seeing as she had never been in this much pain in her life, however, she was starting to get cold, which meant that she was losing a lot of blood.

Sakura used the quick sand jutsu and trapped her in place; Sakura then solidified the sand and charged Ino, a kunai in hand. Ino waited, and at the last second brought up her hands settling into her clan's signature jutsu. Sakura's eyes were wide as she realized what was happening, but it was too late. Ino hit her point blank.

They both went still, though Sakura collapsed to her knees. Inside Sakura's head there was a struggle that couldn't be seen. Unfortunately, Ino was not prepared for Sakura's inner persona. After all, the practice Sakura had been doing, and the newfound mental fortitude she had gained by the things she had done and seen, it was not difficult to kick Ino out of her mind. However, it took a lot out of her and a lot of chakra to do it. The process wasn't difficult, just the amount of chakra needed.

As Sakura was pulling herself together, Ino registered that this was her one chance to do something before Sakura killed her. As Sakura shakily got to her feet, Ino acted. Still trapped in place, Ino took out a kunai and stabbed, and then passed out.

Sakura was abruptly shocked out of her stupor by a sharp stabbing pain in her ribs. She looked down and saw a kunai sticking out of her ribs on the left side. It wasn't very deep, but it was deep enough to nick her lung. She also noticed that out of reflex she had drew another kunai and stabbed Ino back, getting her deeply in the gut. Sakura briefly registered this as she coughed up a little bit of blood and collapsed.

Before she could hit the ground though, Sasuke caught her and as carefully as he could set her down and moved back.

The medic nins were on them almost instantly. Usually they waited till the proctor called the match before acting, it was actually policy. But this was different. This whole exam was like nothing they had seen, and with the way things were going during it, every second mattered. If they had to break a rule or two to give someone a slight chance at survival, they would.

**Was actually planning on getting all of the fights out of the way, but it was taking too long so I just decided to go ahead and put this out there. I actually have real excuses for this one being so late, but I'm not going to bother going into them. Sorry for the lack of plot here, but it couldn't really be avoided. The next chapter things will get put back on track.**

_Beta Comments: And another nice chapter. I'm certainly glad you give me the rough draft beforehand so I can help on the spelling and whatnot. I'd thought about some situations when it came to Naruto's speech, but then I realized that he grew up on the streets, there is very little chance that he would have actually used the kind of speech that I'd thought of using. That being said I did reword a few things. Look and see if you can find the differences. That's it for me at the moment, so Good Riddance and Peace Off._

_- Anime Insaniac_

_**A most sincere thank you to my Beta, without him, I would have embarrassed myself many more times than I do on a daily basis. **_


	27. Chapter 27

**Renegade Ch: 27**

Naruto and Sasuke were both sitting in the waiting room at the hospital. After Hinata and Sakura had gotten hurt, both left and followed to them to the hospital. Neither of them bothered to stay and see if they ended up having to fight again, bothered to wait to see if they were going to advance to finals. They just didn't care. While they weren't really concerned about the exams in general, the fact that they both dismissed them so quickly for the sake of their teammate and friend did bother them both. Neither of them had ever felt so concerned for someone else before, and it scared both of them.

They both knew that shit happened, that both Sakura and Hinata knew the risks when they signed up and went in to this. That they should have just accepted what happened and moved on. Check on them at the soonest possible moment sure, but to just outright abandon something like a chuunin exam? No, this was different. This was something that they both felt that they shouldn't be feeling.

None of this was being discussed between the two of them. There was nothing that needed to be said. They both knew that the other was thinking about the exact same thing, and neither were sure where to start. Finally, Sasuke broke.

"Fuck it." Sasuke declared, making eye contact with Naruto. "Naruto, things are changing, we are changing." Naruto just nodded in resignation. He knew it too, there was definitely something wrong with him. Doing what he did was stupid. He knew it, Sasuke knew it, and he found it hard to care. In fact, the more he thought about Neji, the angrier he got. And on top of that, something else that he hadn't felt in a long time was coming up because of it.

Sasuke knew it too. Sakura really wasn't even hurt all that bad. Sure she had been stabbed and beat up some, but she would live. He had seen her hurt plenty of times before, and this certainly wasn't her first time going to the hospital for treatment. Hell, he had put her here a few times himself. Still, this was different for some reason he couldn't explain. There was no real rational reason why he should feel this…concerned. They went in this half expecting to die for gods' sake!

For all of this, they still knew that Sasuke was right. A few months ago Naruto wouldn't have reacted that way. Sasuke wouldn't have thought or cared much at all about Sakura, but the fact was, Naruto did step in, Sasuke did care. Somewhere, they had changed, and they didn't even notice it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kakashi finally got a hold of Jiraiya, after so many years, he actually looked the same. He never would have known that he was in the village if Esibu hadn't given him the heads up, but Kakashi did not feel the way he thought he would.

For one, he felt no kind of joy what so ever in meeting Jiraiya again. In fact, he felt a healthy amount of rage. Here was the man who knew the most about people like Naruto in the world. Here was the man who could and should have been there to help and guide Naruto his whole life. Here was the man who was Naruto's Godfather. And as far as Kakashi felt, Jiraiya had no right to even see Naruto, ever. He owed him so much that Kakashi could barely see any way that he could even begin to see a way for Jiraiya to make up for all of it.

"Hello Kakashi, I trust that…" Jiraiya didn't get a chance to finish.

"What are you doing here Jiraiya? Why are you really here?" Kakashi practically demanded. He didn't even try to hide the distain his voice. Jiraiya for his part was able to hide his shock fairly well. He was many things, an open pervert among them. But while a great many people, woman especially, may not like or even despise him, everybody always remembered that he was a Sanin, and one of the most powerful men alive. As it were, Jiraiya only raised an eyebrow at him, and was surprised still when Kakashi did not lower his stare down.

"Remember who you're talking to Kakashi." Jiraiya stated in a firm tone, no mirth or humor in his voice. He was used to it, but for once Jiraiya felt truly disrespected. "Now, since we're old friends, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and let you explain yourself. Now tell me Kakashi, what exactly is it that's bothering you?

Kakashi took a deep breath. "Fine, are you planning on making any kind of contact with Naruto." Kakashi asked, obviously restraining myself. Though from what Jiraiya was starting to see.

At that last comment, Jiraiya did feel a little more than a little twinge of guilt. But like everything else in his life he shook it off, or at least that's what he told himself. Despite his still fearsome reputation, Jiraiya was an old man, and that meant regrets. Regrets of a lifetime of killing, lying, and loss. It came with the job, he knew it going into it, and he still knew it. When he was younger he dealt with it like a ninja should and was able to rationalize and accept it all. But one of the downsides of growing older is just that, growing older. He learned a long time ago from his own experiences that getting older did not mean becoming wise, only becoming increasingly tired. And Jiraiya was so very tired. Tired of all of the lies and deceit that didn't end up changing anything, tired of not having any real faith in anything or anyone anymore.

There was another underneath the underneath reason for ninja being forced into retirement, no matter what the circumstances or current hardships going on. And that was that retirement was the one true gift that could be given to those that had been fortunate, or unfortunate enough to survive that long. It was a chance, a small chance at true happiness. For it is said that peace is the enemy of memory. Jiraiya had far too many memories for any man to bear. However, that didn't mean that he could forget his shame. If he could go back for one thing, it would be Naruto. But he didn't, he abandoned him to his fate. Jiraiya being too ashamed and numb did the only other thing he could do; he lost himself in brothels, and committed the worst sin that one can commit in his opinion.

That was a lesson in becoming tired, the ability to sort through all the bullshit that was conflict and greed. When you see things clearly, you begin to see the simple things that could change so many lives for the better, but nobody did because it was easier and simpler not to. And this made even good people monsters. The sin that Jiraiya was so ashamed of was his conscious choice to lose himself to apathy towards his fellow man. And Jiraiya knew that that was what he did towards Naruto. And because of that, he grew numb to everything else he did, for how could anything top that sin? When he convinced someone to spy on their own country and feed him information eventually, unless there were other things in play, Jiraiya had to abandon them to their fate. But he could live with that, even if he used to feel guilty, it was done so that his loved ones were safe. But after everything else that he had done, what loved ones did he have left, who was left to claim as his own? The answer was simple, and another harsh truth, no one.

Kakashi did not have the experience that Jiraiya did, but he had been around long enough and done enough to grasp what he was seeing when he saw Jiraiya age fifty years in a few seconds. After all, he had done some bad things in ANBU, and he knew all about regret. And while not on the same level that Jiraiya, there was a time when he too had let everyone down in different ways that he had one to claim as his own. And with that thought, Kakashi had an epiphany.

'_Who am I to deny Jiraiya? I have done some bad things, but I apparently still have some sort of right to take joy in seeing Naruto grow and start to become what he should have been. Or at least become happy. I think that I may be falling for a woman, what right do I have for that love? If can't give Jiraiya a chance, than I am just a hypocrite of the lowest sort.' _Kakashi thought with certainty. And as he looked at Jiraiya in the eye, they knew each other.

Kakashi tossed Naruto's and team seven's complete dossier, he brought it with him in advance as he had already planned to give it to Jiraiya.

"You will train him, wait for the right moment, you will know when the right time is." Kakashi gave another thought, it still wasn't enough to leave Jiraiya with that simple understanding, and he had to _know_ what Naruto meant to Kakashi. Kakashi loved Naruto far too much to let Jiraiya hurt him the way only he could. For if he actually got to know him, Naruto would learn that Jiraiya knew more about the '_group'_ of people that Naruto belonged to than anyone else alive, and he would learn the true extent of his crime, what Jiraiya could have done for him. And if Jiraiya abandoned him again, Kakashi wasn't sure that Naruto would ever be able to feel again.

As Kakashi turned his back to Jiraiya and started to walk away, he stopped and without looking back, spoke in a tone that could not be interpreted as anything else but a promise.

"if you abandon him again, or in any way _really_ hurt Naruto. I'm going to _**make**_ you kill me." Jiraiya accepted this as a fact, and wasn't sure that he would be able to force himself to not allow Kakashi to kill him, no matter what was on the line. For the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. So no matter what happened, eventually everything would balance itself out and return to the way things were to begin with.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Gaara looked at the moon once again in his life and pondered thoughts that he had never before been able to explore. This was due to one person, Naruto Uzumaki. Somehow, he had scared mother and allowed him to be alone with his thoughts.

'Are we friends?' Gaara asked the moon in his mind, taking advantage of the clarity that he knew would not last forever. It almost made sense; the moon was really the only thing in his life that didn't end up hurting him in some way. There was nothing else that didn't, not the world, not the village, not people, not his family. Sometimes the moon almost seemed to call to him, or something inside of him. He certainly enjoyed killing people more when the moon was out.

At first he pretended that it didn't bother him when he was younger. He faked smiles for a while, convinced that if he acted the way they wanted they would love him. Then he started to get desperate, trying very hard to figure out what exactly he was doing that was so wrong. Then he found out.

They hated him for being born. They hated his existence. There was no open scorn, they feared him too much. So they just pretended that he didn't exist, and that was so very much worse. No one wanting him, no one caring, no one even looking at him. There was a chance, a small chance that if he had anyone in his life that cared, that he would not have started to look for ways to prove he was actually alive. He should have died; he should have given up and withered away to nothing being ignored like he was. But Gaara was made of something they couldn't understand, they tried ever so hard to make him invisible and untouchable, they tried to break him. But Gaara simply could not be broken.

What proof was there that he did indeed exist? There was nothing, until he finally lashed out one day. He saw blood, he saw people look at him, and he saw fear. If he was alive before that, he didn't know it. Seeing the look that people were giving him, seeing the carnage, hearing the screams. It made him feel alive like he never thought possible.

Even still, there was a chance, a chance that someone could happen across him and recognize the grieving child that he was. Someone that could see the little boy that only wanted his mother underneath all of the blood. However, all of that was ruined when his '_mother'_ started to talk to him. He knew better, knew that she wasn't his real mother, he knew it all along. But if he didn't do what the voice told him, if he didn't talk back, the voice said it would leave him, and the thought of being alone when he was just starting to get a small look of what it felt like for someone to pay attention to you was unbearable. So Gaara consented, and felt what he thought was love for the first time in his life. He never knew love, so he assumed that this voice who thought it was his mother loved him. He didn't know any better.

As time went on, he finally started to get some regular reactions from people. He got the fear, and he got the hate. After he found out what it was that was actually talking to him, he wished he could feel pain the way others did. He considered stopping talking to Shikaku out of spite, but then he would have almost no other way to feel. If he could feel physical pain when the assassins came, it would actually help remind him that he was actually alive.

Eventually he made a decision. He decided that even if he hated Shikaku for the betrayal for pretending to love him that he would pretend that he didn't care. After all, when you are alone, you want someone to acknowledge you, even if you hate them, if only to not be alone anymore. Even though some part of him was hurting, the hurt was better than feeling nothing at all. And Gaara had learned from a young age that all emotion was precious, because as he forced himself to not feel, feeling nothing at all was so much worse, so he clung to any and all emotion that he could spare.

Without the Shikaku to interrupt him, Gaara found that it was rather easy to come up and recognize all of this in himself. It tends to happen when you have nothing to think on but yourself. And that brought him back to Naruto Uzumaki. He had no idea on what to do about him. Here was a person that could somehow relate to him, someone who Gaara just knew was like him, and yet this person was able to have what he had never been able to. He had a family, or at least the closest thing to it.

Gaara was jealous, he was confused, and he was scared. So he had to make a decision, what was he going to do? He could kill him, if he could. That would prove he was alive and end all of the problems relating him. But there was another part of him that had been buried for years that wanted to cry out for help. He was getting nowhere with all of this.

As Gaara sat and contemplated all of this, he noticed that someone was watching him, someone was going to start approaching him. Gaara aloud himself a small smile, he was going to feel alive tonight after all.

Gaara smoothly let all of his sand out and spread it out to slide in the tiles on the roof that he was sitting on. While he knew it would kind of give it away, he even used the sand that made up his gourd. In effect, that made him look defenseless, this in turn should raise suspicion in any decent shinobi. Then again, anyone that was looking to actually attack him probably knew about how much chakra he had used to defeat the green thing earlier in the day.

Gaara had taken no chances when dealing with him. If he gave him the opportunity to use a Genjutsu like he had, he was not sure if he would be able to defeat him. So, he had held almost nothing back from the beginning. The effect was that they had both ended up going all out very fast.

Any Jonin in the room was able to sense or estimate exactly how much chakra Gaara had used in order to both defend, and eventually crucify the green thing to the arena wall. The amount that he used was enormous. It wouldn't have been as much if he hadn't taken him so seriously, as the more chakra he put into the jutsu, the more effective it became. As it was, Gaara was happy he had taken him as seriously as he had.

However, all of this was irrelevant. While Gaara used an obscene amount of chakra, it only amounted up to a third of his overall reserves if he used Shikaku to aid him. So in effect, whomever was about to confront him was most likely under the impression that he was virtuously defenseless at the moment. That was fine with Gaara.

When the boy finally appeared, Gaara recognized him as one of Orochimaru disposable henchmen. He wasn't supposed to know that, but not being able to sleep left him with a lot of time on his hands, and he was curious to learn about someone who was so powerful.

His suspicions were only confirmed as the boy started to talk about wanting to fight the Uchiha heir to prove himself. Gaara quickly lost interest and stopped paying attention. So, being not so discrete, Gaara maneuvered the sand under the tiles to kill him. Gaara had a new idea that he wanted to test out.

He had gotten it by observing the sandstorms and massive tornadoes of sand that formed in the desert. He practiced on a bird once that he had caught unawares, but a ninja was made out of tougher stuff.

The mummified boy didn't realize what was happening until it was far too late. The sand had grabbed his feet in place, preventing him from moving. And before he could do anything to try and get out of it, sand quickly surrounded him and started to whirl around him. Gaara didn't have to wait long to see the results.

While all of this was going on, Gaara used another jutsu to form his Seeing Eye right above the boy so he could look down and actually see what was happening to the boy. Gaara was not disappointed.

At first the only thing that happened was his bandages and wrappings disintegrating, followed soon after by his metal braces that took a little longer to fall apart, after that, he was in direct contact with his flesh. Gaara watched in fascination from both angles as the boy was grounded down and torn apart like he was in a meat grinder. The screams alone sent shivers down his spine. What was also so interesting was watching as his whirlwind slowly turning crimson red. The effect was truly beautiful in under the full moonlight.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

While Gaara was tearing apart and grinding the idiot sound shinobi into nothing, completely different things were going through Naruto and Sasuke's minds. After their quick epiphany, they just waited in comfortable silence for a while. That is until Kakashi came to wait with them.

He was just about to say something when a number of doctors and nurses burst into the room surrounding a gurney with a bloody green body on it. It took a moment for everyone to recognize who it actually was. This caused all three of them to involuntarily shutter at the memory of…whatever the hell that was.

Even still, Kakashi couldn't be helped but to worry about the boy. Despite their rather awkward interactions Kakashi and Gai were true friends, and that boy was something akin to a son to Gai. Naruto and Sasuke however had no such emotional bonds to him. They were just pleased that no matter what, they would hopefully not have to go through with that whole thing again for the foreseeable future.

As time went on, several other people came and went. Namely other ninja checking in on their friends and families. Some of them were actually classmates with Naruto and Sasuke, but they were kind of in their own world right now, and thus, a little bit dangerous. Whenever someone was going to approach them for whatever reason Kakashi subtlety interfered and got the message across that the two genin should be left alone for now at least. After a few moments consideration, they all left in agreement that this was probably for the best.

The ones that were of the older generation didn't need to be told at all though. One look at Naruto and it was clear what was happening. As veterans, they had all seen their fair share of monsters and such over their lives. But right now even a civilian could look at Naruto and tell he was dangerous in whatever state of mood he was in.

When Naruto had seen Hinata about to die, he should have gone white with rage, but he didn't. Instead, something worse happened. Kakashi had only seen his sensei in this strange 'mood' on two different occasions. Times he didn't care to think about anymore.

When most people raged, it's almost like part of their brains turned off. Or at least the part that was rational. With Naruto and Minato, it was a little different. While part of them did shut down, something else also woke up. The primitive animal side that is. Naruto was already there, Kakashi could tell. It was what he and the Hokage had worked so hard to suppress and keep at bay. It was why they allowed him to kill people as a child, to keep it in check.

Naruto's conscious that they had worked so hard to instill had shut down for the moment. It was just like when he was seven, the way he was looking around. Back when Naruto had _needed_ to kill. But after so long of keeping in near constant contact with his team, and the intensive training, Kakashi and Sarutobi thought that they finally had a hold on it. But now it was back, you could see it in his eyes, like every other human was just a squirming animal that he wanted to tear apart. If Kakashi wasn't careful, Naruto would end up killing a lot of people tonight.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sarutobi Hiruzen was surprisingly, at peace. For the first time in a long time was actually content and at peace with himself. This was not what he thought he would feel when his time came, but it was what he was feeling right now.

The aged Hokage knew that he was going to die, and most likely, there wasn't anything he could do about it. As truly gifted and powerful as he was, he was an old man. He always knew that one day he would face Orochimaru again, and that it would likely mean his doom. As the years went on he had begun to have doubts, but he always knew. He knew that when Orochimaru finally made his move, that he would do so with the certainty that he would die.

Knowing that his time had finally come, Sarutobi actually found himself…relieved. No more waiting, it was finally time to end all of this. After a lifetime of serving the village, the time had come to get his affairs in order. It was a surprisingly pleasant, though grim, process. Although occasionally, it was painful. When reviewing his will it was a rather painful reminder of how out of touch he was with his son. Now that he was at the end, it all seemed so insignificant. All the fights, all of the harsh words. Looking back so much of it was pointless.

With a sigh Sarutobi set it aside and picked up the updated form of the Bingo book. As he idilly flipped through it, he suddenly froze. Setting it down carefully as if to make sure that his sudden revelation would disappear if he made any sudden movements. He pulled out older bingo books filled with names and faces of people and monsters long forgotten.

For a moment he actually stopped and had yet another nostalgic and slightly depressing moment. Thinking about how casual everything like dismissing all of this was to the masses. So many names, so many stories, forgotten and never to be remembered. Then he remembered what he was doing.

After sitting there for almost a half hour, he finally relaxed. It wasn't that a weight had been lifted from him or anything, no; actually he had discovered another burden. Thankfully, it was not to be his own.

After a moment of thinking, he finally decided to call attention to the visitor who had been spying on him for the past two hours. Someone who was good enough to not be detected by ANBU, but not quite good enough to get by him. Or at least that was what he was hoping was true. It may have been possible that he was simply letting him think that he couldn't get by his attentions. For whatever reason, that didn't piss him off; he almost felt a kind of flattered. After all, people were supposed to respect their elders, right?

"Come take a look at this Jiraiya, I just figured out what the next generation is going to be famous for." Sarutobi said in a slightly louder tone than normal. There was a brief pause, and then Jiraiya came in through the window with grace that defied his age.

"We have things to talk about." Jiraiya said in a soft tone that conveyed a sense of bitterness, self loathing, and quiet wonder all in one. Naruto may have been able to say all of that with a newly invented facial expression, but Jiraiya could do it with a whisper apparently.

"Yes, I suppose we do. But before all of that starts I want you to know two things, the first is what I already said, and the second is that Orochimaru is back and I am going to die soon." The aged Hokage said with such perfect calmness that Jiraiya was momentarily taken aback at how casual it was said. As if Sarutobi was talking about a piece of furniture that he had tired of instead of proclaiming that his life was at an end.

For several moments Jiraiya said nothing, and then he just frowned. "Are you sure?" he asked carefully. Sarutobi just nodded.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. We found a few bodies that I suspect were his work, and Anko has confirmed it by actually meeting and having a quiet talk with him. It has been a long time coming I suppose. However, I am an old man, and since when has Orochimaru ever left anything to chance? No my old student, my time has come." Sarutobi said without any hint of fear. Jiraiya just kind of stood there for a moment processing all of this. And after a minute or two, he came to the same conclusion. Orochimaru wouldn't have revealed himself if he wasn't sure that whatever it was he was planning, was completely covered. Orochimaru hated Sarutobi, truly hated him, and if he was being this bold, then the old man really was as good as dead.

"I see." Jiraiya said slowly. He wanted to say more, but Sarutobi understood. With a sigh, Jiraiya sat down across from his old teacher. "So what did you discover?"

Sarutobi kind did a half smile and offered Jiraiya to take a look at about a dozen bingo books that had been laid open on his desk. Jiraiya went through them curiously looking for some sort of pattern while Sarutobi waited patiently. After about ten minutes, Jiraiya frowned.

"What does this mean?" he asked. While he saw the pattern, he was still unsure about what it meant. The aged Hokage just laughed. He would get to be teacher again if only for a little while.

"If you notice, there are almost no C or D ranked missing nins anymore. While they were plentiful during the wars and after, they are almost nonexistent now. However, there are just as many now as there have always been, the only difference is that they are stronger now than they have ever been. There are more A and S ranked criminals now than there have ever been, ever." Jiraiya's eyes widened, starting to put the pieces together.

"Every Hokage has done something great to ensure the villages survival. The first fought a war and founded the village. The second gave it a foundation to build upon and made sure it would survive. I did my part in the second war and ensured we survived and came up on top. And finally the Minato brought an end to the dozens of border wars that were seemingly endless as well as participating in the third great war." Sarutobi stopped momentarily to let it sink in.

"What this means," he said while using his hand to gesture at the books on his desk. "Is that the next generation and the next Hokage will have to deal with all of this. A new age is coming, or is already here. It is an age of monsters and titans roaming the world. It is a new kind of combat that I fear no one will know how to combat." At that Sarutobi sat back and watched the full measure of it land on Jiraiya, and was silently pleased that he could still have that effect on him.

Jiraiya just kind of sat silently and thought on it. And after a minute or two, he had to agree. He simply hadn't noticed the change. There were more outlaws in the last decade, and they were getting stronger every year. Eventually, there would be so many that the villages would be pushed back. With so many deserters from their elite going renegade, they would start to kill them off before they got too strong to avoid them disappearing. Of course, this would just start a chain reaction that would cause even more to desert. With the rate of bingo book entries, Jiraiya made an educated guess that such things would start happening within the next five to ten years.

"Wow, I guess our time of hero's is over." Jiraiya said in a strange tone that was laced with what sounded like regret. Sarutobi laughed.

"No, in fact, I think that the time of hero's is truly just arriving. We were all war heroes, but the new generation will make names for themselves on their own actions. We are just going to have to make sure that Konohagre at least doesn't make the same mistake that the other villages are bound to make. Jiraiya just nodded numbly, it was all a little too much for him right now.

Jiraiya cleared his head with a shake. "Anyway, I want to talk about Naruto." Sarutobi nodded with a sigh.

"Yes, things aren't well with him at the moment. I trust Kakashi can handle the situation well enough, but if you don't take an active role soon…things may get a little complicated." Sarutobi said with a hint of a warning.

Jiraiya couldn't help but agree. He had neglected his duties for far too long, and thus had let the situation get out of hand. If it wasn't for Kakashi, Naruto would be beyond his abilities to reel back in to humanity.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

'I'm dead.' Was all Neji could think as he sat awake in the hospital. The wounds seemed so trivial now. He had always been a believer in fate, and it seemed that fate was telling him that it was time for him to die. The Byakugan was renowned as the 'eyes that saw only the truth'. Neji still had them activated when he was confronted by Naruto. He still was not sure about what he saw.

What he was sure of was that Naruto was going to kill him, that was a fact. Every fiber of his being told him to run from Naruto, told him to get as far away as possible. If that wasn't enough, Neji saw the truth in Naruto's eyes. His eyes weren't threatening, no, that would have implied that he could have gotten out of it somehow if he kept his head down. No, there was no 'or else' warning in his eyes. Naruto's eyes not only promised death, it was as if he were already dead. As if Naruto had already killed him and his body and brain had simply not caught on the fact yet.

Neji shook his head. Then, there was the red chakra, if it was even chakra at all that is. That was something else entirely. With Neji's gift, he had been able to see in all its glory exactly what happened, and while he didn't exactly understand it all, he knew that Naruto was not human. Not entirely anyway.

In any case, Naruto was going to kill him, he was sure of that. The fact that he was going to be fighting Naruto in a month's time just made sure that there would be an audience. Neji was a genius, of that he was sure. But he knew that there was really nothing he could do to stop him.

Neji had always been a firm believer in fate. It was how he had come to rationalize everything in his life. However, despite how awful he believed his lot in life to be, he had never been in a situation like this before. Sure, there was always a chance a main branch member could activate his curse seal and kill him, but this was a far different experience. This was the first time in his life where he actually felt, desperate. That in and of itself was terrifying.

So what was he going to do? What could he do? Could he prepare?

'_Prepare for what?' _Neji asked himself. Other than what he saw that day, he knew next to nothing about Naruto Uzumaki. That would have to change.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It had been a long time, but Sasuke still remembered the feeling. He honestly thought that fear was actually beyond him, that it literally wasn't possible for him to feel it anymore. After he watched his brother kill his clan, a part of him really did die that night, or at least parts of him. In any case, through cool logic he discovered that there was what seemed like pieces of his soul that were missing, just gone.

Sure, as time passed he appeared to recover. But you don't come back from something like that, ever. What was really happening was basically what Naruto did consciously as a child. His brain was simply trying to adapt to the way it knew he was supposed to react.

Of course, things were nowhere near ideal. Sasuke might have just passed off as a shy kid had he cared to try, but the fact was that he didn't care, about anything. At least not at first. What Sasuke did know was anger, and hate. It was the only solace he had, all that was left, all that Itachi couldn't take from him. So he held it close, and gave himself to the hate.

After he was on Naruto's team for a while, he discovered he could feel new things, or at least part of new things. When he laughed, it was because he was amused, but it was nothing more than a natural reaction to an emotion that was only a shadow of what it once was. That was all his reactions were an act. Facial movements and body language that were only really put on because deep down he thought that maybe if he faked it long enough, maybe there would be a chance to regain at least some of his humanity. It seemed like a worthy goal, or at least something that Kakashi would like.

It had taken a while, but he now knew that there was no going back, not that he cared a whole lot anyway. The only reason he even tried in the first place was because it seemed to put people at ease if he didn't act like there was nothing inside him. But it was still a surprise to feel something new for a change. At first it was for Sakura to his surprise. There was always something different about her, especially after they started training as a team.

Sasuke had thought it was simply not possible for him to feel concern for another human, which was proved mostly wrong back in wave. Even still, there wasn't anything that could truly tie him down. Then he saw Sakura dying. He didn't know what to make of it.

At first he simply didn't understand what he was feeling, and then he recognized it as some type of fear. He had seen her hurt many times, some of the time by him. Sometimes he even hurt her badly enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. But seeing her lying, pale, in a pool of her own blood. Seeing her look dead, did something that he still wasn't sure exactly what. What he did know was that he felt a deep sense of some type of fear or panic that he couldn't get rid of for some reason. At first, it partly amused him that seeing Sakura hurt could cause this reaction. But after so many hours, it was starting to piss him off. That was, until he started to take notice of Naruto.

While Sasuke had assumed that he had felt about all of the emotions that he would be capable of, he was proved wrong again. In all honesty, Naruto was truly scaring him right now.

Back in the academy, Naruto was a scary kid; a lot of people were and still are terrified of him. But what Sasuke understood now was that back then people actually had a legitimate cause to fear him. Sasuke never feared Naruto simply out of ignorance of what he was.

But Sasuke was different now, or at least he was smarter and perhaps a little wiser. He had seen more of the world, and seen the monsters that really did exist. Case and point being that fucked up family that raped the Hyuga girl. But what Sasuke saw in Naruto right now was truly scary.

Perhaps it was because he had been around Naruto long enough that he simply didn't notice the gradual and slight changes that had made him at least a bit more stable. But looking at him right now, it was like seeing Naruto when he first came to the academy, only insanely more dangerous, and lethal.

Sasuke was one of the few that truly knew what Naruto was capable of, and what he could be capable of in the future. The idea that it could be what he was seeing right now was truly terrifying.

In his quiet musing into his own thoughts Sasuke had failed to notice that people had sutibly started to leave the room to just him, Kakashi, and Naruto. And in a waiting room in an active and large hospital, that was really saying something. And Sasuke couldn't blame them either.

He was watching Naruto out of the corner of his eye now and he was seeing a side that he hadn't seen before, and that was saying something. Naruto had never cared to hide his thoughts to spare people their delicate sensibilities. But this was something else. Naruto looked for the most part, calm, collected, and lethal. He walked around with a cool and collected confidence that was intimidating. Like he knew he could kill them all, like they were already dead and were simply waiting for him to finish them off, or let them die.

Sasuke caught his eye for a moment. At that moment, he knew that Naruto would just as soon skin him alive as talk to him. Considering their friendship, this could be very bad indeed for anyone else.

Then there was the fact that Naruto looked…_hungry_, for lack of a better word. Sasuke at least recognized that look. It just meant that Naruto was eager and bloodthirsty right now. He wanted, maybe even _needed_ to kill something, or someone. Normally, Naruto was in control, or at least he held himself back. This Naruto though, looked like he was considering disemboweling someone in broad daylight in the middle of a busy market because he wanted to hear people scream.

It hadn't really dawned on Sasuke how much Naruto had changed. It was subtle at best, but when he put thought into it, the change was nothing short of amazing.

Back in the academy, Naruto was different. Back then, Naruto looked a lot like he did right now. Not in the way of him being pushed in a new dimension of pissed off, but just in the way he looked at people. Hell, six months ago, Naruto looked at him differently. He looked at people like he always considering killing them. Not that all that much had changed, but back then it seemed like it was actually an option for him to decapitate someone because they gave him a dirty look. Now, while he certainly entertained the idea a lot. He knew that it wasn't worth it, or just an overreaction. Apparently, Hinata almost dying the way she had pushed Naruto back to the state he had been in when they hunted down, tortured, and killed that family of rapists.

Add in the fact that he was very angry, and you got an unstable possibly homicidal teenager that happened to actually know what he was doing. Sasuke was sure that if Naruto decided to go awall, he could probably make a good living as a serial killer in Konoha for at least a few months before someone tracked him down. Or at least that would have been the case if Kakashi wasn't involved.

As it was, Sasuke was also surprised at how much of an influence the man had had on all of them, Sakura included. They had all changed, or grown up depending on how you looked at it. Kakashi at the very least had put them in the position and given them all the means to change.

Now that Sasuke thought about it, he supposed that he should probably be a little pissed about being manipulated the way he had. He had not asked for any of this, but now he had it. And as much as he wanted to be mad, he couldn't bring himself to be. After all, hadn't he gotten what he wanted? It was because of Naruto and Sakura, and by extension Kakashi, that he was as strong as he was now.

On top of all of that, the relationship with his team was something that he still wasn't sure about, but it didn't seem to be all that bad. In fact, from what he could tell, Naruto was more of a brother to him than Itachi ever was. And while Sasuke still didn't know what to think or feel about that, he did know that he didn't like the way Naruto was now. Right now Naruto wasn't a brother to him, right now he wasn't even sure if he could trust Naruto as a teammate. And if something wasn't done soon, Naruto would probably have to be killed in order to stop him from killing innocent people. Or at the very least he would have to be sedated for a while.

Sasuke had spent so many years not caring about anything that he had forgotten what it was like. And even though he knew that he would never be what he was or what he could have been, it was still enough for him to know that he cared about Naruto enough to not like him how he was now. In short, Sasuke guessed that he just wanted his friend back. It was a scary feeling, to admit that to himself. He wasn't even sure for the reasons why he was afraid.

As Sasuke watched Naruto stalk back and forth in the waiting room, he began to actively think of ways to bring him back, before he did something stupid that would force him to do something even stupider. Like run away with Naruto. As completely retarded as it sounded, and much as Sasuke was sure that it would cripple his goals in the future, at least as far as he could tell, it seemed worth it. For some reason, the simple knowledge that Naruto, in his right mind at least, would do the same for him was enough. Sasuke couldn't explain it, but for whatever reason Naruto in trouble was all he needed to know.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**I'm BACK! Sorry for the months of absence, but life got in the way. Ill just leave it at this. I work construction full time, it is hard work. On top of that, for some reason, I have made the brilliant decision to go back to school and get a degree. In all, this leaves me about an hour a night of free time, I'm tired. Anyway, that's what my life has been like. **_

_**Anyway, the story is still something that I want to do, but updates will be random, sorry. Also, I haven't read or watched the manga or anime for what seems like years now, so let me know if I'm going too far off base with this story. Thank you, and please review. **_


End file.
